


My Babysitter's a Vampire: The Month of October

by Leviisthesexiestheichou



Series: My Babysitter's a Vampire [3]
Category: My Babysitter's A Vampire
Genre: Action, Benny weir - Freeform, Creepy, Ethan Morgan - Freeform, F/M, Halloween, Love, M/M, My babysitters a vampire, Romance, Rory Kearner, Supernatural - Freeform, erica jones - Freeform, romantic, sarah fox - Freeform, vampire
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:40:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 31
Words: 33,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26516845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leviisthesexiestheichou/pseuds/Leviisthesexiestheichou
Summary: It wouldn't be My Babysitter's a Vampire without the gang getting into trouble in October!  When a new student comes into town, Benny is smitten, and Ethan and Sarah are suspicious.  Meanwhile, Ethan is trying to get over the emotional turmoil of being in love with his best friend.  What will happen to the gang as more of this mystery student is uncovered?Notes:The year is 2013.  I will upload every day with a new chapter.  The day will reflect the day of 2013.  For example, if it was Monday on October first on 2013, then it will be Monday in the story.This is also the final story for the My Babysitter's a Vampire Series!
Relationships: Ethan Morgan/Benny Weir
Series: My Babysitter's a Vampire [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1617991
Comments: 38
Kudos: 49





	1. October First

It was dreary. What little light had escaped from the moon was quickly covered by the soft clouded blanket. Surrounding him were a legion of chocolate trees with colorful leaves burying them. A squishy ground sank his feet gently into the earth, almost like a trap was set in place. To most, this would be terrifying. However, Ethan wasn’t afraid for some unknown reason.

He took one step forward, only to slammed to the soil by an unseen predator. A sharp pain jabbed at his back. Now, he was petrified. His heart was beating with full force, his breathing was stammering, and all he could do was watch his fate unfold before him. A familiar face popped to his vision. Jesse. Jesse?

“Well, don’t you look cute? I could just eat you up,” Jesse said in a rustic voice. Ethan was perplexed at the flirtatious advances made by the vampire but didn’t question it. Instead, he squirmed from underneath him.

“Ah, looks like I got a fighter. How typical,” Jesse leaned down and with one swift raise of his upper lip, his teeth deeply sank into the male’s frail neck.

That’s when he woke up. His body was shaking as if he was just in Antarctica for three hours, and his heart was running faster than a cheetah. His eyes popped open and focused on the rest of his room. Shifting around, he found his alarm clock. ‘6:34’ it read. Figuring he needed to get ready soon, he groggily made his way out of bed and stretched his arms to the sky.

He couldn’t understand what that dream meant. Jesse hadn’t visited their town after last year when the Lucifractor exploded. Things were fine, minus a few vampires being destroyed in the midst. Everyone believed that Jesse’s existence had been annihilated, so what was he doing having nightmares about him? Could he have somehow survived the tragedy of last year? It seemed impossible, but stranger things had happened.

Ethan put on a light jacket and swung his backpack around his shoulder before hopping out the front door. What he was greeted by; however, was unexpected. Benny was casually waiting in an old beat up car. Ethan knew Benny got a new car, but this one had to be at least one hundred years old, and he didn’t know if it was considered an antique model or not. Was it possible for that car to even run?

“What is that?” Ethan asked, stepping off his porch to examine this new vehicle. Had this even met the safety requirements?

“My new wheels. Check it. It’s a total chick magnet,” Benny said with a giant grin, assuring his friend that riding with him would be worth it. He decorated it as well, with a bobblehead Yoda and a hanging car freshener that smelled like hot chocolate. The back of his car had a sticker that read ‘Don’t honk! You’ll disturb the incredible HULK,’ What chick would be into the nerd-mobile?

“More like chick deterrent,” Ethan noted, walking closer to it but pausing at the sight of the Naruto’s ‘Believe it!’ sticker.

“Do you want a ride or not?” Benny asked, patting the passenger’s seat and giving him an expected look.

“I think I’ll walk,” Ethan decided. He started walking away from the embarrassing car. Benny shrugged.

“Okay, but you’re going to miss first period,” Benny pointed out. He started driving away past Ethan rather quickly.

“Wait! Fine. I’ll get a ride from your…car,” Ethan said, not wanting to miss school. Benny silently cheered and unlocked the door for him. Ethan ripped the door open and begrudgingly sat in the fuzzy seat. This was the perfect way to start junior year.

“Dude, we’re going to look so cool driving up to school,” Benny said enthusiastically.

“Most people our age drive to school,” Ethan said.

“Yes, but do most people do this?” Benny started blasting heavy rap music and tried to feel really cool.

“Oh no,” Ethan said.

“Oh yes,” Benny said.

It wasn’t as weird as it used to be being around Benny. After what happened at the Ferris Wheel, Ethan was certain that it would make him feel awkward around his friend for eternity. But surprisingly, things had calmed down since then. A few months passed by, and he was able to get a handle on his feelings. Sure, he still strongly liked Benny. But now, he was able to feel comfortable around him despite his likings. All it took was time, relatable music, and hanging out with Benny to train himself on getting a grip. Plus, he didn’t want to lose Benny because of his feelings. Losing Benny was a way worse outcome. So, he learned to deal with his underlying affections.

“For the last time, no girl cares if you blast Kanye in your car, if your car is still trash,” Ethan said.

“Amanda is not trash! She is a 1980 Ford Mustang. You wouldn’t understand our love because you are not a proud car owner,” Benny said.

They strode down the hall and stopped in front of their lockers. This was their routine. Benny would talk about a stupid idea he had, and Ethan would refute everything he said. Then, they would end up at their lockers and just about finish the conversation. Something at school always ended up distracting them.

“That was your car? Man, what a babe!” Rory said, genuinely impressed, as he approached his mortal friends.

If Rory thought something was cool, then it most definitely wasn’t cool. Ethan regretted that he ever set foot in that thing. He’d rather walk to school or ride the bus. But this was Benny, and Ethan wanted to support him.

“Right?” Benny opened his locker to reveal the stacks and stacks of paper shoved inside. If the show Hoarders focused on lockers as well as houses, Benny would easily get an episode.

“What are we talking about?” Sarah interrupted.

Ethan was surprised that Sarah showed up. She usually didn’t want to make small talk with them. Unless she needed to confront them about something, she avoided them at school. Ethan couldn’t blame her. Considering their reputation, he wouldn’t want to be caught dead, or undead, seen talking to them. Her beauty made her have so much potential in life. It was best not to waste it on them.

“Benny’s new disaster,” Ethan said. He opened his own locker and pulled out a book.

“He means car,” Benny corrected.

“Fascinating. Anyways, you know what today is, right?” Sarah asked Ethan.

There it was. He knew she wouldn’t just be there to make small talk. But what was today?

“Tuesday?” Ethan guessed. Technically, he wasn’t wrong. Was it someone’s birthday?

“Not just any Tuesday’ it’s October first,” Sarah said.

“So?” Rory asked.

Yeah, so? What did October first have to do with anything?

“October is always when the weirdest stuff happens here. We need to be extra on our toes this year. Last year was complete chaos,” Sarah said.

October was their busiest time of the year. That was because Halloween was just around the corner, and Halloween was the day when the realm between the spirit and the living was at its thinnest. Naturally, the supernatural took that opportunity to mess with humans. Ethan agreed that it was probably a good idea to keep a look out for anything out of the ordinary. But gosh, all of this monster hunting was starting to take a toll on him.

“Relax. Last year was so crazy, I doubt anything new will even happen this month,” Benny said.

Leave it to Benny to brush aside any form of concern. When it came to calmness, Benny was the master. Ethan wished that he was able to be as relaxed as his male counterpart, but much to his dismay, he was just the opposite. If something went awry, they acted differently. But that's what made them work. Benny was able to ease the tension, and Ethan helped keep everyone on track. You couldn't have one without the other to function properly.

“You mean like her?” Rory said, pointing ahead of them.

Ethan followed Rory's finger across from them. Appearing in his vision was one of the prettiest girls he had ever laid eyes on. She had soft chocolate hair, full lips, and an olive undertone. A cute white sweater with a pair of tight, skinny jeans adorned her with a pair of high brown boots to match. Around her neck was a gold chain with an apple charm. Everything about her looked well put together. 

“Woah, who is she?” Ethan said.

“I don’t know, but she’s about to be my new Lea,” Benny said with a smirk. He slicked his hair back and popped up his collar, trying to give himself more of a bad-boy vibe. It wasn't working for him. After he flicked his nose with his thumb, he confidently strolled over to his newest victim.

“No. Benny. Benny!” Ethan groaned, not wanting his friend to embarrass himself, mainly because he had to be associated with it.

“Well hello there, cutie. And who might you be?” Benny said coolly. He leaned against the lockers and looked her up and down. She was a total babe.

“Moi? I’m Camille,” Camille said in a heavy accent. Much to the gang's surprise, she didn't seem annoyed by Benny's presence. Rather, she looked amused.

“French I see. Well, Bonjour. Je maple Benny,” Benny said in what he remembered from the French he was required to learn thanks to Quebec.

“You mean Je m’appelle,” Camille corrected.

He didn't get an A for his pronunciation, that was for sure. 

“Man, you know me so well. We are just perfect for each other,” Benny said. Camille chuckled.

“That’s quite a strong statement for someone you just met,” Camille said.

“What can I say? My feelings for you are strong,” Benny said.

“Okay, Benny. I must head to my class. À plus tard,” she said as she walked away from him. 

Benny came back to his crew with a goofy grin.

“Dudes. She is totally into me,” Benny said.

“Where’s she from?” Rory asked.

“France,” Benny said.

“She’s way out of your league,” Sarah commented.

Though Ethan tried, he couldn't help suppressing the intense jealous feeling that was brewing in the pit of his stomach. He had been working so hard on getting over Benny, but being around him wasn't making it easy. And Camille didn't seem perturbed by his advances, which only made Ethan's feeling worse. 

“We know what happened last time someone dated a girl out of his league,” Ethan said, looking at Rory. 

He was talking about when Rory had a werewolf girlfriend on Valentine's Day. She had tried to eat him!

“Camille is different. Plus, I’m not a vampire. This is a true love story,” Benny said. He walked away from them and headed to class.

Sarah gave Ethan a look.

“What did I tell you? October first,” Sarah said.

Ethan immediately felt off about her. He sensed that he had known her somewhere but couldn’t determine where.


	2. October Second

“You throw a mushroom in the wrong direction one time, and suddenly that’s your whole legacy!” Benny complained.

Ethan, Benny, and their batty friend strode down the hallway while discussing the mishaps of their game marathon last night. Ethan and Rory couldn't stop making fun of Benny for his silly mistake, much to his dismay. But it was so silly that they couldn't resist the tease.

“You threw it at yourself,” Ethan pointed out. Rory chuckled at that and nodded in agreement.

“I told you. My controller was totally bugging out,” Benny said. 

Benny was the king of excuses. If there was ever a problem, he blamed it on something else. Rarely did he actually take responsibility for his actions. Ethan and Rory knew that his controller excuse was a white lie, but they liked it. It was more enjoyable to watch their flustered friend make up lies that they could further tease him for. All three of them were in on it, even if Benny tried to act otherwise.

“Whatever you say man,” Ethan said with a shrug of his shoulders. There was no point in arguing over it anymore.

“I say pumpkin patch,” Benny said with a snap of his fingers.

Huh?

“What?” Ethan asked. 

That was very random. Benny was random, but this was too random.

“Pumpkin patch. We should go after school before all the good pumpkins are gone,” Benny suggested.

“I like that idea! Last year, I had to get a misshapen pumpkin because I waited until the 15th to get one,” Rory said enthusiastically. 

Ethan thought back to that misshapen lump Rory claimed to be a pumpkin. It looked more like a squash. It wasn't even orange. The entire vegetable was ghost white!

“I don’t even think that was a pumpkin,” Ethan said thoughtfully with a frown on his face.

“Pumpkin patch, what do you say?” Benny asked.

“Why not? It could be fun,” Ethan said.

Ethan and Benny loved to celebrate Halloween. It wasn't unusual for them to go to the pumpkin patch together. In fact, Ethan was surprised they hadn't gone sooner. The second of October wasn't too late for them though, and he was looking forward to looking at all of the round beauties they only saw once a year.

“Sweet! I’ll drive,” Benny said with a jump of glee.

“I’ll just fly myself there. You two enjoy your ride,” Rory said, fully aware that Benny’s driving skills were less than decent. Ethan didn’t even know how he got a license.

Ethan gave Rory a look that said, "Please, don't leave him alone with him." It was moments like these when Ethan wished he had powers like his winged friend. Being a vampire was sometimes convenient. The only inconvenient aspect about it was the diet. When one thought about it, it was like veganism. Veganism was less convenient but came with great health benefits. Vampire benefits include super-powers!

“Suit yourself. You’re going to missing out on some total man action,” Benny said.

After school, Benny and Ethan drove to a nearby pumpkin patch that they went to every year. As they approached, they saw a wide field with orange dotting the greenery. A familiar blonde body blurred in the distance. Ethan grabbed a wagon and followed Benny down the dirt trail, leading them to a section full of giant pumpkins.

“What are you going to carve in your pumpkin?” Ethan asked as they wander through the patch.

Ethan looked at the pumpkins. Some were large and rounded but most were lumpy. Every time he bent down to pick up a pumpkin, he noticed a flattened back. No one wants a flat pumpkin. Others had lumps that reminded him of a witches' wart. The larger pumpkins were almost perfect, if it hadn't been for the fact that many of them were missing their stems.

“I’m thinking Harry Potter. He is going to look so cool,” Benny said.

“Won’t that be hard to carve?” Ethan asked.

Carving was difficult. Ethan was more of a triangle nose and eyes kind of pumpkin guy. Simple geometric shapes was easier than trying to trace the detailed shapes of animals and people. 

“Not with magic,” Benny said. 

“Fair enough,” 

Ethan stopped and saw a great contender. Its stem was long and spikey, and its body was the shape of a fully-blown balloon. Excited, he knelt down to pick it up. To his surprise, another hand flew in his vision and contacted with his. The boy looked to see that his hand had touched his friend's. Instantly, Ethan pulled his hand away and muttered an apology. Benny licked his lips. Ethan couldn’t tell if it was the sun or what, but Benny’s face had flushed red.

“What’re you going to carve?” Benny asked, picking up the pumpkin and placing it in the wagon.

Ethan looked away and bit his lip awkwardly. With a shrug, he wandered around to look for another suitor.

“I haven’t really thought about it, probably just a few simple triangles,” Ethan said. He found a medium sized pumpkin and heaved it into the wagon.

“That’s boring. Why don’t you do something like the Batman logo?” Benny suggested.

“Maybe,” Ethan said, though he knew that was not likely to happen. 

Suddenly, Count Dorkula dashed between them and jumped up and down in place.

“Guys! They have a hayride here,” Rory said happily. 

“Aren’t those rides for kids?” Ethan asked with a cocked eyebrow. 

Rory frowned.

“No! I see adults ride them too,” Rory said.

“I mean, we’re already here. We might as well go on the hayride,” Benny said.

“Score! Meet ya there,” Rory said and was gone in a flash.

Benny and Ethan looked at each other and shook their heads. They made their way over to the giant tractor with a pulley attached. A couple of parents and their children patiently sat on the stacks of hay. Rory made his way over to the corner. 

Ethan sat a good foot away from Benny, wanting to maintain a healthy distance, but was quickly pushed closer as more people get on. As they're being forced together, their legs touched just like they did in that Ferris wheel. 

The Ferris Wheel incident still remained quite vivid in Ethan's head. Benny had kissed him to prove that Ethan didn't have feelings for him. Even though Ethan said that it helped, it was a lie. It further proved that Ethan had true feelings for his friend. He had wanted to go back and reverse that kiss. Instead of easing the tension, it caused more.

Slowly, the tractor began to make its way down the path. The party violently shook as it bumped around the patch.

“This ride is sort of lame,” Benny murmured to Ethan. A shiver went down his spine at the words uttered in his ear. Crud.

“Y-yeah,” Ethan said.

“This doesn’t compare to flying,” Rory said, realizing how lame his whole idea was.

Bam! The tractor slammed over a particularly large bump, resulting in Ethan falling into Benny's lap. His body was warm and comforting, but Ethan was too embarrassed to revel in it. He felt the heat quickly rising to his face like a thermometer stuck in a cup of boiling water.

Benny, on the other hand, didn't seem bothered. With a soft chuckle, he helped Ethan sit back up. Ethan nervously laughed with him.

Looking back out to the patch, he glanced behind to see a wave of trees. Behind one of the trees in the distance was the outline of a girl. That wasn't the weird part though. It looked vaguely like Camille. She was about her height, with the same skin tone and hair. From what he could see, the outfit was what she had worn that day. And she was looking directly at them. 

Not believing what he was seeing, he rubbed his eyes and checked back at the same spot he had seen her. His image now was but a vanishing figure.


	3. October Third

“I’m telling you; she’s totally into me,” Benny said definitively.

Ethan didn't know how much more of this he could take. For the past couple of days, all Benny could talk about was how he knew that Camille was interested in him. Though it wasn't unusual of him to be infatuated with a lovely lady, he typically could sense how out of his league she was. And the worst part was that Ethan thought he wasn't wrong. Camille did seem interested in him despite her obvious beauty that surpassed Benny's lanky appearance. That's what caught Ethan off guard. There had to be another reason she could like him. It didn't make sense for her to be attracted to him.

“I don’t know. There’s something off about her,” Ethan said.

It was funny that Ethan thought Camille couldn't like Benny because of his looks, yet he liked him. But Ethan saw Benny for more than his looks. He knew about his heart, something that Camille didn't know about. Ethan liked the way Benny laughed, the stupid jokes he told, and his over-confidence in everything. You couldn't just find another Benny. Meanwhile, there were tons of Camilles back in France.

“What could be off about my precious baguette Camille?” Benny asked.

“Baguette?”

Ethan cringed and leaned against the wall as Benny spoke. There was a tight tinge he felt at the mention of a nickname. Benny was already resorting to calling her cute things. That was his thing. Benny called him 'E' and never gave anyone else a nickname. This was a new territory he didn't like her treading on.

“What? It’s good bread,” Benny said.

Did Ethan dare to say it?

“Well not to rain on your parade, but I’m pretty sure she was at the pumpkin patch yesterday,” Ethan said.

He had to. He couldn't not let Benny know that there was something weird about her. The fact that she could disappear out of thin air wasn't a good sign. Camille could be someone from the undead or just plain dead. Her staring at the two didn't help her case either. Considering that Benny and Ethan were on many not on many supernatural peoples' good lists, he knew she had to be about their past.

“And you didn’t say anything, why?” Benny asked.

“I was going to! But when I looked back, she was gone,” Ethan defended. 

“Sounds like someone is developing a crush. Are you cheating on Sarah?” Benny asked.

Ethan rolled his eyes. After his thing for Benny, he got over Sarah very quickly. As much as he wanted to go back and try to have something with her, his heart just couldn't. His feelings were too deeply invested to focus on someone else. Even though he knew that he and Benny could never be, he was all he thought of.

“No, and Sarah and I are not a thing,” Ethan assured him.

For some reason, though he knew Benny didn't care, he wanted to let Benny know that in case Benny felt something too. What if Benny liked Ethan and wasn't going after him because he was too scared to and thought Ethan liked Sarah? Though Ethan knew that was highly unlikely, the idea still rang in his mind.

“Right. Oh! Be right back. Colonel Urinal is calling,” Benny said and quickly rushed to the washroom while holding his crotch.

As if on cue, Camille approached Ethan with a soft smile.

She smelled like she dumped a bucket of expensive perfume on. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, letting her low-cut top embolden her chest apples. Man, if she did like Benny with no ulterior motives, he surely hit the jackpot. Ethan didn't know whether to be jealous of him or Camille. The problems of a bisexual were real.

“Bonjour, Ethan,” Camille said cutely. She leaned against the wall on one side and propped herself up with her right arm.

“How do you know my name?” Ethan asked.

“Benny’s mentioned you a few times. You two are rather close,” Camille said.

She gave him what he believed to be a rather alluring look. Ethan was so confused as to what was happening. Was Camille flirting with him? He couldn't tell. 

‘You have no idea,’ Ethan thought.

“J’aime your shirt!” Camille said. She placed a perfectly manicured finger on his chest and flicked his chin.

Ethan looked down at his shirt with Thor’s hammer on it with a reddened face.

“Thanks. You like superheroes?” Ethan asked.

“Oui! Chris Hemsworth doesn’t make them seem so bad."

She wasn't wrong. The attractiveness of the superheroes did give them more of an appeal. Ethan really liked Captain America for that reason. That man was chiseled by the Greeks. 

“Do you like other superheroes?” Ethan asked curiously.

It was interesting that she liked something nerdy like superheroes. Maybe she wasn't just a popular bimbo with an ulterior motive to destroy him and Benny. Maybe, she genuinely was interested in Benny because they had things in common

Yeah, that didn't sound plausible to Ethan either.

“Ah, I must go. It was nice to meet you, Ethan,” Camille said. She pushed herself off of the wall and blew Ethan a little kiss.

As soon as she walked away, Benny hopped out of the washroom and jogged over to him. He watched Camille narrow down the hall.

“Dude, were you just talking to Camille?” Benny asked.

“She complimented me on my shirt,” Ethan said. It was weird. It was a really weird experience. He watched her turn a corner and shivered at the uncomfortableness he felt.

“Woah. What if she likes both of us? I challenge you to a duel!” Benny declared. He raised his arms in the air and positioned himself in a sparring stance. 

Why did Ethan like him again?

“No one said anything about liking anyone. I’m not going to fight you,” Ethan said.

“Fine, but you will be defeated young Jedi,” Benny said. He returned back to his normal stance wearily.

“You need help,” Ethan said.


	4. October Fourth

Benny was back at the Morgan's decorating on a Friday evening after school. Out of all the holidays, Halloween was by far his favorite to decorate for. Christmas was cute but was far too jolly to ignite any excitement or thrill. Easter was too pink, and Saint Patrick's Day was too...green? Halloween gave you so much freedom. Plus, scaring people was a fun time for any day.

In psychology class, Benny learned that fear was the best way to get someone to be attracted to you. He forgot what the effect was called, but he remembered how it worked. When a girl was around you and was scared, she will misattribute her speeding heartrate and intense feelings for him instead of her fear. It might have been called the 'misattribution of arousal' now that he thought about it.

“Tell me again why we’re putting spiderwebs on your fireplace,” Sarah said to Jane with an amused smile.

She strung up the cottony webs around and imbedded a few plastic spiders around. These were the only kinds of spiderwebs she'd want in her house. Any other kind would be sucked into a vacuum by her stern father.

“Because Nathan keeps saying his house is the spookiest, and it’s getting annoying,” Jane explained. She grabbed a skull from the orange and black box and settled it on the top of the fireplace. 

“Who’s Nathan?” Benny asked from across the room. He and Ethan were by the windows, stringing up mini orange lights that the girls couldn't reach.

“Her crush,” Ethan answered with a smirk.

No matter how much Jane tried to deny it, she was totally into him. But she hated admitting that she had a soft spot for anyone, mainly because of her stern demeanor. And she didn't like that it gave Ethan something to hold over her head. The curse of having a sibling.

“I do not have a crush on him! He is way too much like you,” Jane snapped. 

Benny and Ethan chuckled at her comment.

“She’s totally crushing on him,” Benny mumbled to him.

“I heard that,” Jane growled.

Ethan shook his head and stood back to look at their work. The lights were hanging down to frame the windows. Benny knelt and flickered on the lights to see them emit an orange blur around each bulb. It was perfectly Halloween.

“Well, it’s not like Jane is the only one with a school crush,” Sarah pointed out.

“Please. There’s a difference between a ‘crush’ and destiny,” Benny said.

Destiny. As if! Ethan didn't want to believe that to be true. Could you find your destiny in high school? He thought he and Benny could last a long time, so he supposed anything was possible. Heck, if vampires and magic were possible, then finding your soulmate in high school could be possible too. Ethan wouldn't be surprised if he saw a unicorn walking down the street tomorrow.

“Not when being crushed by your crush is your destiny,” Ethan said.

“Is it just me, or is there something off about Camille?” Sarah asked.

“I noticed it too, but Benny is in complete denial,” Ethan said.

Ethan was relieved that he wasn't the only one that noticed something off about the new girl. Besides the fact that she was new, there was something else that was different about her, and he doubted it was just because she was European. But what could he do or say? All he could do was sit back and wait for more clues of her weird puzzle to unfold. At least Sarah was willing to watch with him. Benny was too busy being blinded by love.

“I’m so pumped for Pokémon X and Y next Saturday,” Benny said, not paying any attention to their conversation.

“You should check her out. We don’t want another incident like last year,” Sarah said to Ethan.

“That shouldn’t be hard. She was awful friendly to me yesterday,” Ethan said.

“Guys! I need you to get the giant blow up ghost. I can’t carry it,” Jane said to Ethan and Benny.

“Is that thing really necessary?” Ethan asked. She gave him a look. “Alright, we’ll get it,” 

The boys made their way down the basement and rummaged through the boxes they had stored away. After going through a few, Ethan found the giant box that held the ghost she wanted. It was cute, cartoonish, and was holding a trick-or-treat bag. It wasn't very scary, but it fit the theme of Halloween in general. 

“Do you really think you and Camille are meant to be?” Ethan asked as he leaned down to pick up the box. He huffed at the realization that it was too heavy for his noodle arms to carry. Benny noticed his friend's struggle and made his way over.

“You never know,” Benny said. Ethan raised an eyebrow. “Probably not, but a man can dream."

“Just be careful. You don’t want to get your heart stomped on,” Ethan said.

In truth, he was trying to look out for him. He disliked seeing the disappointed look on his friend's face every time he was rejected by a girl. It wasn't easy finding true love in such a harsh world. At least, that's what Benny kept telling him. Little did Benny know that Ethan knew the sour truth of that statement.

“I get rejected by most girls, so I think I can handle myself,” Benny said as he picked up on end of the box. Ethan followed and hoisted it up from the ground.

“Yeah but not usually this hard. I just don’t want you getting hurt,” Ethan said.

“Why do you care so much?” Benny asked, loosening his grip as his irritation rose at the interrogation.

“I speak from experience, okay?” Ethan said defensively.

“When did you get your heart broken?” Benny asked.

“Never mind."

There was no way that Ethan was telling Benny about him. This was not the time. There never would be a time. He had made that decision a long time ago. 

“You can’t tell me something major like that, and then blow it off,” Benny said.

“It’s nothing. Forget I said anything,” Ethan said sharply. 

Benny read the tone of the situation and quieted down. Awkwardly, they both carried the ghost back up and helped finish the remainder of the packing.


	5. October Fifth

It was Saturday night, and Sarah was spending it in the one way that she didn't want to. She was in line with Erica, waiting amongst the sea of teenage fangirls for the opening of the latest Dusk movie. 

Before the whole vampire thing, Sarah was a casual Dusk fan. Erica was much more heavily invested and saw it as a genuine romance story that every girl should fantasize about having. Sarah mainly liked the franchise because it was hilarious. The dramatic staring, bland personalities, and ridiculous scenarios left her holding back her laughs in the theatre. While girls were squealing at the love confessions, Sarah was trying not to scoff.

After becoming a vampire, she didn't feel any better about the movies. In fact, they made her feel worse. Each minute was a reminder of the horrible curse that was placed upon her, without her consent too! At least Erica got to choose her fate. The brooding actors had no true idea what it was like to deal with the cravings for your human brethren. It was like having an alcoholic live at a bar or expecting a dog to befriend instead of eat their steak.

With a quiet sigh, Sarah waited as she watched Erica argue with the girl in front of her about whether the vampire or the werewolf should be with the protagonist of the movie.

"Vampires are way hotter than werewolves," Erica argued with her. 

The shorter girl rolled her eyes.

"Vampires have no life to them! They're glorified corpses. Werewolves are warm and actually have feelings," the stranger said back.

Why did they bother with this? Yes, the girl wasn't aware that she was offending her race of people, but it wasn't her fault. It's not like the human knew that vampires actually existed. She was referring to the made-up sparkly people that gaga over plain Jane's.

"Glorified corpses!? Says the girl who is mooning over a dog! If anything, werewolves are socially acceptable bestialities," Erica countered.

Sarah walked away from the line to grab some popcorn before she had to watch the situation get out of hand. There was only so much brainless conversation that she could take in one night, and she had to save that for the movie.

She approached the long row of people ahead of the snack area. More waiting. Great.

"Oh! Sarah," a strangely foreign voice rang. 

Curious, Sarah turned around to see the new student that Benny had a larger crush for than Rory did for Erica, and that was saying something. With a raised eyebrow, she crossed her arms and gave the suspicious girl a look.

"Have we met before?" she asked. 

"No, if we had then you would've remembered. I tend to have that affect on people," Camille said with a smirk. She tossed her beautiful locks aside and looked Sarah up and down. Her facial expression told the vampire that she wasn't impressed.

Sarah was taken aback. This was a completely different version of Camille than she had seen with the boys. Instead of trying to be charming and flirtatious, she was almost cold. It was confusing her more as to what this person's motives could be.

"Right...are you here to see the new Dusk movie too?" Sarah asked.

Though she was put off by her, she wanted to keep a conversation going. Perhaps, she would slip up and expose what her true intentions were. Or, she could be giving hints to Sarah that she could later let Ethan know about. Whatever happened, she wanted to continue talking to her.

"As if. I have better things to do than watch tasteless American teen-romance movies. I'm here to see Blue is the Warmest Color," Camille said.

Blue is the Warmest Color was a French film. Sarah tried to remember what that film was about. The poster behind Camille reminded her. That was a lesbian film! Is Camille a lesbian? 

"That's nice. Are you...?" Sarah didn't know how to ask without coming off rude.

"No, but I know it's better than the trash Americans produce," Camille said.

There were Canadian films here that Camille could've seen, yet she still chose to watch a movie from her own country. She could be secretly homesick. Sarah knew she was species sick. She missed being a human.

"I don't think American films are all that bad," Sarah defended. She may not have been American, but that didn't mean she couldn't stick up for their movies. Though she hated to admit it, the Avengers was an amazingly good franchise!

"You would think that," Camille said.

What was that supposed to mean? It's not as if Sarah knew her from anywhere. Had she been stalking her Facebook account or something? The way Camille spoke to Sarah was so familiar. 

"I'm sorry. Have I done something to offend you?" Sarah questioned. 

"No. What would give you that impression?" Camille asked sarcastically in return.

Awkwardly, Sarah stood there glaring at her in disbelief. Was she seriously having this conversation? This could not be happening. Deciding that it was a bad idea to continue, she turned back around to face the line ahead of her. From her perceptive hearing, she heard Camille mutter the word 'Jesse'. If Sarah's heart was beating, it would've frozen in that moment.

"Did you say something about Jesse?" Sarah asked as she turned back around to look at the French teen.

"Who is Jesse? I said messy. You should get your hearing checked. Boys don't want to date a deaf girl," Camille said.

Wow. Sexist and spouting ableism in one sentence. This girl was showing more and more of her true colors, and they weren't pretty.

Annoyed, Sarah returned to the front and walked up, almost ready to order her popcorn. 

That was a bizarre conversation. Camille knew something about Jesse, she was ruder than she led on to believe, and she was potentially a closeted lesbian. At this point, Sarah didn't even know if Camille was truly French! Wait 'til Ethan heard about this!


	6. October Sixth

Pant. Pant. Pant.

Ethan was running as fast as humanly possible, trying to escape the fate that was directly behind him. Being in the way of an angry vampire was most definitely not ideal. 

Brightly above, the moon was shining in the dark pooled sky, a cratery smile almost trying to mock him. As he kept moving forward, he came across an ancient gravesite. The boy leapt over the gate and stumbled into the ground, hoping not to be seen. He hid against the wall with his body trembling and stared at the grave only a foot away from his face. It was too dark to make out whose grave it was.

Patiently, he sat there and waited for the vampires to go away. He closed his eyes and counted to ten, trying to get his breathing back on track. When he opened them, a white face was only centimeters away from his.

"Ah!" he screamed in terror and jolted back, resulting in the frail boy slamming his head against the bricked wall. He hissed in pain and grabbed the back of his head, which was now throbbing.

"Did you really think you could escape me?" 

She was blonde and very beautiful, but Ethan didn't recognize her. If anything, the girl was a complete stranger to him. Cherry red lips were licked as she looked at her potential meal.

"Please, don't hurt me!" Ethan begged, not knowing what else to do at this point. His breathing was barely existent at this point. 

The vampire threw her head back in laughter, filling the entire cemetery with laughter. What the heck was so amusing to her? Her cackle was sharp.

"Don't worry your pretty little head about pain. You'll only feel a pinch," she said in a bitter-sweet tone. Just as she leaned in again to grab a bite, the girl was thrown back by none other than Jesse.

"Save it, Rebecca. This one's mine," Jesse said sharply.

As soon as they were both distracted, Ethan got up quietly and ran away into the deeper part of the forest. 

"Ah!" Ethan rose from his bed, shaking violently, and looked around his room. He was safe and finally out of that nightmare, whatever it was. 

He glanced to the side to see his window showcasing the half moon in the sky. The moon looked different from his dreams. Ethan didn't know if that was a good or bad thing but decided on the latter.

It was weird that Ethan was having another dream about Jesse. After his antihalation last year, he figured that he would've moved on and not thought about him again. You couldn't worry about someone that no longer existed. Contrary to his thoughts, he was still scared out of his mind about the male's return. He just didn't know why.

Looking down, he saw Benny snoring on the floor next to his bed. They had a sleepover and stayed up most of the night playing videogames. Benny was sound asleep and wiggled a bit in comfort.

With a shaky sigh, Ethan got up and decided to get some fresh air. As silently as possible, he exited his house and sat on the front porch.

This was the life he was stuck with now. Years of monster chasing was starting to take its toll on the young nerd. Couple that with unrequited love, and you had yourself a very stressful life. His parents weren't even aware that their boy was in danger every three months. For some reason, this town was cursed, and the only two people brave enough to save it happened to be him and his best friend.

Ethan didn't know why it had to be him and Benny in charge of saving everyone. At first, the thrill was really fun, contrary to him hating stressful situations. He felt that he grew closer to him as they had to save each other all the time from death. All of the videogames they played became their reality.

Still, it didn't feel as fulfilling as before. No one ever thanked them for saving their town. At least the Avengers were thanked by the entire world. Meanwhile, Ethan and Benny did crazy things and not so much as received a simple medal for it.

He considered documenting their wild tales and publishing them as books, but who would want to read about two nerds fighting against evil? If he were to write it, he would take some creative liberties when it came to him and Benny as characters. Maybe he could be a total muscle man, and Benny could be a ladies boy for once. People loved to read about other desirable people.

With a short huff, he got up from his porch and was about to go back inside when he saw a peculiar shadow moving from across his lawn. Frowning, he marched forward to see what the commotion was. Nothing surprised him anymore. Heck, if Jesse popped up, he'd probably just say, "What's up?"

Right as he was approaching the figure, it started quickly darting away. Ethan chased after it until he circled to his backyard. The shadow soon disappeared from sight without a trace of what it could've been behind.

"Weird," Ethan said to himself.

Shaking his head, he decided to go back inside and shrug it off. That could've been an animal, Ethan thought. 

There were many reasons someone could be following them, but Ethan didn't know who. He assumed it was Camille considering she had been there at the pumpkin patch. But, who exactly was she? What did she want with Benny and Ethan? And why the heck would she have been at his house? Was she spying on them?

Ethan groaned and headed back into his room after he drunk a glass of water. Scratching the back of his head, he trudged back upstairs and plopped onto his bed with a thump. 

Something was going on in Whitechapel. It was going to be huge. Ethan could sense it.


	7. October Seventh

Thank goodness Ethan took French, or he wouldn't understand what she had said half the time. She just inserted French into her sentences like everyone around her knew what she was saying. Some of them flunked French class, so she was going to have to start speaking more English. Rory wouldn't be able to hold a conversation with her otherwise.

“What about me?” Benny asked, pouting a bit at her.

“Of course, I wanted to have conversations with you. You are a breath of fresh air in this toxic world,” Camille said poetically.

“What does that even mean?” Ethan asked.

This time, he tensed at her affections. Never had a girl actually flirted back with Benny before. Usually, they didn't even give him the time of day.

“Isn’t it obvious? I make this world a better place,” Benny said. He swept his hair back and tried to give her a sexy facial expression. It wasn't working.

“Oui, c’est vrai! Excellent Benjamin!” Camille cheered. He grinned.

Oh brother.

“Benjamin, could you get me une livre from the library, please,” Camille requested as she battered her eyelashes at him. What game was she playing at now? Did she want them to be her minions?

“Your wish is my command,” Benny said. 

With the snap of a finger, Benny started to make his way to the library. Ethan started to follow him but was grabbed back by Camille.

He pushed her hand away from him and rubbed the back of his neck. He scowled at her and was left more confused.

“Ethan, I have other requests of you,” Camille said.

“I’m not getting you lunch,” Ethan said. She laughed.

“No, no mon ami. It is something much easier,” she said with the shake of her head.

Easier? What? She wanted him to tie her shoes? He looked down to see that she was wearing heels. Okay, shoes weren't it.

“Okay. What?” Ethan asked.

“You are aware of the rose garden near the school, yes?” Camille asked.

“Yeah,” Ethan said.

This was getting weirder and weirder by the second.

“Meet me by it on Wednesday after school,” Camille said.

“Why?” Ethan asked.

“You will know when we meet. And do not bring Benny,” Camille said.

Why couldn't he bring Benny? Didn't she like Benny? Unless...maybe she wanted him to be Benny's wingman. That was something he saw happen a lot in movies. Still, this could be for other motives. He'd have to test her.

“Can I bring anyone?” 

“No. You must go alone,” Camille said seriously.

That was alarming. That also meant that this wasn't about Benny. If it was, he would've been allowed to bring more people to this ambiguous meeting of theirs. 

“This is weird,” Ethan said.

“Trust me. You are in no harm,” Camille said.

“Famous last words,” Ethan murmured.

Why did Camille have to assure him that he wasn't in harm's way? Shouldn't that have been implied considering they were just two students at school? The way she spoke made her sound like a predator talking to her prey. She probably was.

Jesse. She had some sort of connection with Jesse. This meant that she was a vampire, right? What would a vampire that had to do with Jesse want with Benny? Considering his dreams that he had been having recently, it couldn't have been good. In his last dream, there were vampires there that he didn't recognize. It was possible that Jesse was recruiting more vampires. But how was Jesse still alive? And what did Jesse want to do now? Did he want Ethan's blood, perhaps? Jesse and his vampires had seemed awfully waning of him in his dreams.

Whatever it was, Ethan knew he couldn't go without any backup. He'd have to bring some equipment in case things got out of hand. He'd also have to inform Sarah about this meeting, to keep her on the lookout. Having one scout was better than having none. This was something he'd have to confront. He had to save Whitechapel, yet again.


	8. October Eighth

Back at Ethan's house, Ethan and Benny were working on their costumes for Halloween. As per Benny's request, they were going to be Harry Potter characters. Benny insisted that he be Harry and Ethan be Malfoy. Ethan wanted to be Harry, but he couldn't ever say no to him.

“Do you think I cut the arm too big?” Benny asked.

They were handmaking their costumes because they wanted to put their hearts into their outfits. Plus, store costumes were always so cheap. When you made it yourself, you could tailor it the way you wanted to, and it was usually higher quality. Sure, Benny and Ethan were not seamstresses, but they still put in their best efforts.

“No, it looks right,” Ethan said as he glanced over to see Benny had been cutting out the shape for his robe.

Ethan and Benny had stayed up looking for great online tutorials, but YouTube only offered so much. After a few years, YouTube had seemed to be getting more helpful. The best part of YouTube were the skits that Benny would send Ethan. They always shared a good laugh with those.

“I don’t think we’re going to finish this today. Maybe we can work on this more tomorrow,” Benny suggested.

Ethan looked down at the mess of black fabric scattered all over his bedroom floor. There was no way they were finishing today. They still had to get the sewing machine out and design their patches. 

Just as he was about to agree, he remembered that he had plans with a certain someone tomorrow. Ugh.

“Actually, I can’t,” Ethan said.

He snipped more of his own robe and measured out it if was correct. Thankfully, he had been doing pretty okay. All he had to do was follow along with the tutorial, and he thought he could be successful. If anything when awry, he knew Benny would use magic to fix things anyway, so it didn't matter if they made a mistake or not.

“Why? What plans could you possibly have without me?” Benny asked, almost sounding hurt.

But there was no way that Benny could be hurt. He and Benny had been best friends for years, and he was never upset if Ethan had made other plans. Then again, he seldom had any other plans. It was usually him, Benny, and Rory. No one had ever fought for his attention before.

“Camille,” Ethan said hesitantly. 

“What? What do you mean ‘Camille’?” Benny asked. He stopped cutting and set down his robe, giving his friend an expectant look. This boy required an explanation.

“She just asked me to meet her tomorrow,” Ethan said casually.

Ethan didn't know how to tell Benny this without getting him upset. His crush was asking out his best friend after all. Ethan couldn't tell him that it was about her weird aura because he would've refused to believe him. 

“You asked her out, didn’t you? There’s no way Camille hit on you. She’s into me,” Benny said.

Ethan rolled his eyes. What kind of friend did Benny take him for? He would never try to make moves on someone else's woman. That was disrespectful. He'd never disrespect the bro code like that.

“I’m being honest. She asked me out. I’d never make a move on someone you liked,” Ethan assured him.

“Why did she ask you out?” Benny wondered.

“How should I know? She was pretty secretive about the whole thing,” Ethan said.

He went back to working on Malfoy's costume, trying to just move on from this entire conversation. He couldn't tell Benny what she wanted because he didn't know himself. If she had said, "Ethan, I want to talk to you about Jesse," then he could've said that to Benny. But she left their entire conversation fairly ambiguous. 

“I’m still having doubts,” Benny said while shaking his head.

“I’m serious, Benny. I already like someone else, anyway,” Ethan said.

You. I like you. That was what Ethan was dying to scream to Benny. How could he be flirting with a girl way out of his league when he was too busy ogling over the person right next to him? If Benny were gay, they'd totally be made for each other. They were relatively the same in attractiveness level, rarely argued, and loved the same things. They were the perfect match, minus the whole sexual orientation things. Curse Ethan realizing he was bisexual!

“Ethan, everyone knows you like Sarah, but it’s never going to happen,” Benny said.

Benny seriously couldn’t take a hint if it smacked him in the face. 

Ethan sighed. No matter how much he wanted it to happen, he and Benny were never going to be a thing. Benny was too Benny. He liked girls, really pretty girls. Ethan wasn't even a pretty boy. He couldn't compete. And it wasn't fair of Ethan to try and change Benny's orientation. Benny can't help who he was, just like Ethan couldn't help who he was.

Some people still went after straight people in hopes of 'changing' them, but Ethan didn't see the point in that. It sounded like it would end in disaster more than create a love story. Ethan preferred to go after someone that was certain that they felt that way for him too. But he was trying to get over his best friend first. Once he was able to do that, he could start to flirt with other people. 

Ethan wasn't a person that sought after relationships. But when he was so close to a person that he wanted to be with, he started to understand the hurt that people had in romance films. They wanted them. Imagine having something you want so close to you, but you couldn't have it. It was like life was taunting him. 

“Cut there,” Ethan said, pointing at where Benny almost didn't cut.

“So, you’re going to meet her?” Benny asked.

“She made is seem urgent. I promise, I’ll tell you everything that happens,” Ethan promised.


	9. October Ninth

It was finally the day that Ethan had been waiting 48 hours for: Wednesday. Over the past couple of days, Ethan was anxious as to what exactly was going to happen. The night before, he prepared himself with mini steaks and a bottle of holy water. Whatever happened, he had to be ready.

Nervously, Ethan approached the empty rose garden. 

The garden had green grass but few roses in sight. It was rare that plants could grow during this time of year in Canada. Ethan was surprised to see any roses at all. Mostly thorns and brown leaves were seen. He centered himself in the circle of bushes and stared at the trees.

"You're timely," Camille said suddenly.

"Gosh!" Ethan said in surprise.

He turned around to see an amused French girl behind him. When had she arrived?

"You're jumpy too," Camille giggled with a grin.

"Well give a guy some warning next time," Ethan muttered under his breath.

Camille sat on the ground and patted the spot next to her. Hesitantly, Ethan settled.

She was so cheerful. Usually, Camille was calm and seductive. Around Ethan, she had the energy of a werewolf.

"So..." Ethan said awkwardly.

"How was your day?" Camille asked randomly.

Ethan frowned. That wasn't what he expected her to ask him. He didn't think they would be making small talk.

"Uh, fine, I guess. How was yours?"

"Too long. I couldn't wait to see you," Camille said charmingly. Her finger teased the grass beside her, swirling her pointer finger around one of the blades.

"Yeah, about that, why am I here?"

Why was he here? That was the main question on Ethan's mind, and the one that Camille seemed to be avoiding for whatever reason. There was no way she had been excited to see him just because of him. There had to be some other reason.

"Such a broad question, huh? Look around. Philosophers have been trying to answer that question for centuries. All we can conclude is that purpose or not, we have to appreciate what we have and use it wisely," Camille gestured around them. 

Ethan's eyes followed her hand and grimaced. All he saw was death and coldness. Also, that wasn't even what he was asking.

"I'm talking about why you invited me here in the garden with you," Ethan said dryly.

"Does it matter?"

Ethan didn't expect her to ask him that. Why was she answering his questions with questions? And why was she making him more confused than when he had gotten here?

The boy was starting to suspect that she wasn't going to tell him what he wanted to know. He'd have to confront her head on.

"Considering you know Jesse, I'd say it does," Ethan snapped. She looked taken aback.

"Pardon? I don't know who you are referencing," Camille said.

Of course she did. She was some mystery girl blabbering on about Jesse during Halloween season. It makes more sense that she knew Jesse than didn't. Ethan's dreams couldn't have been a coincidence either. Too many things were adding up.

"Sarah said you said his name the other day," Ethan accused.

He didn't know whether throwing Sarah under the bus was a good idea, but he couldn't help himself. By having someone to back up his argument, he made a stronger case. Camille couldn't avoid him if he was correct.

"You are mistaken, Ethan. I don't know of a Jesse. Why is he important to you?"

He was mistaken. As if! Ethan rolled his eyes and inched away further from her, growing impatient with their conversation.

"Because last year, he-"

"Last year? How could I know of someone so long ago when I just arrived here last month?" 

That caused him to pause. Ethan had totally forgotten about that. Jesse died a year ago, and Camille only arrived here this year. They couldn't have met prior, right? As far as Ethan knew, Jesse had mainly stayed in Whitechapel. He probably was too week for universal travel.

"Fair point," Ethan said. Maybe his dreams and Camille weren't connected.

He tried thinking hard about what his dreams could mean. If Jesse was still alive, then there was a good chance that he knew Camille. But Ethan wasn't certain that Jesse was even alive or not. Perhaps, he was just having nightmares because it was that time of the year. It had been rather stressful on him.

"Ethan, I have a secret to share with you. But you cannot tell anyone, not even Benjamin," Camille said seriously.

"Okay, what?"

"Promise me first."

"Promise you what?"

"Promise me that you won't tell him."

Ethan didn't know why it was so important for Benny not to know, but he figured he could lie and just tell him later.

"Okay. I promise I won't tell Benny," Ethan said strongly.

Camille stared at him for a moment and then seemed satisfied. Slowly, she opened her mouth to reveal long, sharp fangs.

He knew it!

"W-woah!" Ethan jumped from his spot and took out his bottle of holy water. "Back off! I have a bottle of holy water, and I'm not afraid to use it!" 

He made sure the cap was open just in case she tried to pull any stunts. He had no intention of getting bit by a vampire again!

Camille shook her head.

"No, no, Ethan. I'm not going to harm you," Camille said with assurance, almost looking hurt at the accusation.

"You aren't?"

"No. I just wanted to tell you because you understand me."

"What do you mean?" Ethan said, still keeping his bottle pointed at her.

"You are a seer. So, I thought we could connect to having abilities,"

"How did you know I was a seer?"

"I saw your eyes glow white on our second day of school. You were touching the locker," Camille said. She seemed genuine in her answers.

Curse his glowing eyes.

"So, that's all? You just wanted to tell me you're a vampire?"

"Oui. Please, keep my secret safe with you. I'm trusting you,"

"Your secret is safe with me."


	10. October Tenth

Back after school, Ethan and Benny were relaxing in Ethan's bed. Ethan was sitting on the edge shaking his head while his friend was sifting through his spellbook.

Though it had only been a day, the moments of Camille and him played in Ethan's head on repeated. So badly, he wanted to tell Benny the full scope of the story. Instead, all he could say was that she wanted casual conversation. That answer perplexed Benny, but Ethan didn't want to make up a more convincing story. He settled for half truths. She did want him for conversation, but he didn't know if telling someone you were a vampire was considered casual or not!

“Benny, I don’t think this is a good idea,” Ethan said as he glanced over inside the spell book.

“I haven’t done anything yet. I’m just doing my research,” Benny said with his eyes glued to the pages.

“Yeah, but your research is how to hunt for ghosts using spells,” Ethan pointed out.

Ever since Ethan and Benny defeated Jesse, Benny had been becoming more confident in his spells. He had been improving over the last three years of using his powers, but he still had a long way to go. But with Benny, a long way to go wasn't in his mind. Any progress inflated his already large ego. Ethan wished he had that level of confidence. Maybe he could actually ask Benny out if that were the case.

“All I need to know is how to capture them. The finding them part is easy,” Benny rationalized.

Ethan failed to understand Benny's reasoning half the time.

“How’s that?” Ethan asked.

Finding them was significantly harder, in Ethan's opinion. You can't capture anything if you don't know where it is. Ghosts knew how to hide since people had been hunting them since their existence. It was called adaptation. 

“You’re here. Seers can see ghosts all the time,” Benny said.

“It’s more annoying if anything. I went to Metro the other day, and it turns out the lady I thought worked at customer service had been dead for ten years. I learned that the hard way,” Ethan said.

“Hard way?” Benny questioned.

“An employee kept giving me a confused look, and when I explained to her who I was talking to she broke the news to me,” Ethan said.

Ethan's complaints were valid. At times, it was hard to gauge who was part of the living or the undead. Half the time he met the dead, they wanted his help to move on to the afterlife. The boy wasn't opposed to helping people, but it could be exhausting. Not everyone's story was easy. Sometimes, he couldn't help. He hated when he couldn't help.

“I would never want to work at Metro in the afterlife. I’d rather explore Europe or something,” Benny said.

“Some people don’t have a choice,” Ethan said.

“Which is exactly why we are ghost hunting!"

Benny, of course, only meant to hunt the bad ghosts. That was another thing. It wasn't always easy to tell who was a bad ghost and who was a good ghost. Bad ghosts loved to disguise themselves and lead mortals into believing they were good. There was the dilemma. Do you capture the ghost to be on the safe side, or do you trust the innocent until proven guilty system? Being a monster hunter came with more moral questions than people failed to realize. 

“You have fun with that. The last time I had to deal with a ghost, he broke my collectibles and showed me a future where he put you in a wheelchair,” Ethan said. He was referencing the coach that was taunting him and declared that Ethan had to win a sports trophy for his school. By some miracle, and some tickling, he did.

“Dude, we have to do this together. Halloween is the day when the spirit world and living world is at its thinnest,” Benny waned.

“Well, what have you found from your book so far?” Ethan asked. He grabbed the book and blushed when his hand accidentally touched Benny’s.

“Not anything helpful. It’s just the basics of ghost detection,” Benny bemoaned.

“Let me try,” Ethan took the book and tried to use his seer powers to find the pages.

In his first vision, he saw a lady with a spider coming out of her mouth. The second vision depicted a goat holding a baseball cap. The last vision showed him a ghost with rope tied around its waist.

“Look at page 387,” Ethan said.

“Spirit capturing…ghost warding…ooh this one can control certain ghosts,” Benny said excitedly.

That wasn't good. Controlling ghosts sounded way out of Benny's league. Benny hadn't even captured a ghost before, let alone tame one. Who knows what wrong could happen if he attempted that!

“I wouldn’t do that,” Ethan said warily.

“It’s fine. If it wasn’t helpful, it wouldn’t be in the spell book,” Benny rationalized.

“Tell that to me a couple of years ago as a werewolf,” Ethan said. “Or last year, when you made me fall in love with you,” Ethan said.

“Both of those unintentionally hit you,” Benny said.

Exactly. They were unintentional, hence Ethan's entire argument. Benny had more accidents than a highway. They occurred so frequently that it was more unlike Benny if something good did happen. Nothing good ever seemed to come from his magic, minus the times it worked to fix the problems that he created using magic in the first place.

His worst mistake: making Ethan fall in love with him.

“Who’s to say that won’t happen again?” Ethan questioned.

“I’ve gotten way better at magic since I was a little freshie,” Benny said.

“Not controlling ghosts better,” Ethan said.

“That’s a test for Halloween."

Yes, at the night when spirits have their most strength, Benny thought it was the best time to get a ghost. Because that logic held up.

“Do we have to?” Ethan asked.

“Is Wonder Woman the hottest superhero?” Benny asked.

“No?” Ethan guessed.

“It’s yes, Ethan. The answer is yes."


	11. October Eleventh

Ethan hated canceling plans. He wanted to be the guy that people felt they could always rely on. No matter if something came up, Ethan would do his best to follow through. So, when he canceled his plans with Benny to once again meet up with Camille, he felt guilt ridden.

Being the great person Benny is, he didn't give Ethan a hard time. The boy knew that Ethan wouldn't have canceled their plans if he didn't have to. And considering that Ethan had always been there for him, he figured he could give his friend some slack.

Even though Benny was understanding, that still didn't stop Ethan from feeling a little tinge in his heart. Besides canceling plans, he wasn't going to be able to spend time with Benny. Benny time was Ethan's favorite time.

"Ethan!" Camille greeted him cheerfully.

Directly after school, Camille instructed Ethan to meet her near the cemetery. Why the cemetery was beyond him and beyond creepy too. With trepidation, he did as he was told and stood there waiting in front of the gate like an idiot. This had to be natural selection. Ethan was knowingly and willingly meeting a vampire near the place of the dead...alone. This was Darwinism at is finest.

"H-hey, Camille," Ethan said weakly and waving his hand. 

"Are you ready?" Camille was wearing a cute, ruffed white blouse underneath and a pair of slimmed jeans. No one in Canada dressed like her. She was wearing the latest fashion trends. Was she from the city? 

"Ready for what?" Ethan asked.

Ready to die? No, I'm not ready to die. In fact, I don't know what I would be saying I'm ready for because all I can think about is how much it'll end with you sucking the blood out of me like a Caprisun! 

"Today, you are showing me around Whitechapel," Camille declared with a grin. Ethan cocked an eyebrow.

"I am?"

"Oui! I want the grande tour."

He refused to show her the sketchy parts of town. They would go places where there were lots of witnesses...people...and explain all the happy parts.

To say Ethan didn't trust her was a huge understatement. No matter what she had claimed Wednesday, there was no way there wasn't something off about her. From her flirting with Benny, to being rude to Sarah, and telling Ethan that she was a vampire, there was definitely something not right. Ethan intended to find out what that was!

"Why from me?"

"You were born here, were you not?" Camille frowned and crossed her arms, like she was hurt that he would imply that he didn't want to give her a tour.

"Yeah."

"Exactement, which means that you know everything about this ville," Camille gestured around and smiled with a bit of her fangs popping out from underneath her gums. That wasn't weird at all.

"Alright. Is there any place you want to start at?"

Ethan decided that there was no going back. If he was going to investigate, he would have to spend time with her and gain her trust.

"I believe there is. Hold on," Camille said.

"Huh?!"

Without any warning, Camille grabbed Ethan's arms and latched them around her waist. She launched them up into the sky. The immediate wind ruffled Ethan's hair as he was hoisted into the blue blanket above them. He had flown with Rory and Sarah before, so this wasn't new, but it felt wrong with someone he didn't know. At any second, she could drop him and watch him splat to the ground like an egg. Ethan didn't want to be an egg.

"You can't make me, Jesse!"

The girl was stepping away from him in the darkness until she was pressed up against a tree. Jesse smirked.

"Don't you see, Camille. You have no choice in this," Jesse growled.

A tear streamed down Camille's face, knowing that her fate was decided. Her fingers twitched, but they wouldn't do anything. She was trapped. Jesse's pack was close behind them. If she ran away, one of them would get her and bring her back to the place where it would all repeat. There was no point in attempting to run away. She was outnumbered.

"Why moi? You can choose another person!" Camille cried at him. Jesse pressed himself against her, to which her slapped him across the face.

Jesse looked aggravated for only a moment, holding the side of his as he focused his attention back to the girl against him. 

"You know why. You know what power you have. Imagine what the abilities of a vampire would give you. Together, we'd be unstoppable," Jesse said. He leaned against her neck and purred.

"Just imagine what we could do for our kind. We could rule this crummy town," Jesse's cold breath tickled the side of her face.

Camille trembled beneath him and shook her head.

"No. No, this is not right. That is not what my powers are for," Camille argued.

"You know you'll side with me sooner or later. Why not skip the hard parts and just join already?" Jesse cooed.

Splat! Camille spit into Jesse's face with not once ounce of regret showing. "I will never side with you. You're a monster!"

Jesse wiped the side of his face. "Oh, you shouldn't have done that."

Ethan jolted back to reality and faltered against Camille. No freaking way!

In surprise, he laid on her back with wide eyes. He couldn't believe that the dreams he had been having were Camille's experiences. But why was he having Camille's visions? How was that important now? And how did Camille meet Jesse if he had died a year ago?

Some things were not adding up. Camille was suspicious still. But on the bright side, it seemed like she was against Jesse. Perhaps, the girl was better than Ethan thought. Her morals seemed to be in check at least.

"Are you okay?" Camille asked as she felt him slightly shaking.

"I think so," Ethan said. He wasn't so sure about that.


	12. October Twelfth

"Bonjour, ma mère," Camille grinned at her mother sweetly and pecked her cheek as she greeted her. She closed the door behind her and entered her mother's open arms.

"Ma fille, où étais-tu hier nuit?" (My daughter, where were you last night?) she questioned while still holding her warmly in her arms.

Camille pulled away and bit her lip, unsure what she should say. With a little sigh, she picked up the crystal ball and showed her all of her whereabouts.

"Camille!" her mother scolded when she saw Camille with another group of witches. They were cackling and conjuring up new spells together.

"Je suis désolé. Ils sont passionnants!" (I'm sorry. They're exciting!) Camille said. Her mother scowled and snatched the ball from her. 

With a shake of her head, she set the ball on the shelf. Then, she settled on a chair nearby a window. She patted the seat across. Camille hesitantly followed.

"Ce ne sont pas de bonnes personnes, Camille. Tu le sais," (They are not good people, Camille. You know that) her mother began to say.

The people that her mother was referring to were known as, Les Cristaux Sombres, or Dark Crystals. Camille had been spending more time with them, fascinated by their way of magic. The oldest and leader of the group, Jasper, was the man luring her into the group. He had been in her science class and wanted to tutor her after school when noticing that she struggled. 

Les Cristaux Sombres were a wild group that were always testing Camille's morals. They played pranks on the mortals and mocked them when they were injured from the joke. Jasper liked to post them online and get millions of views on the Witch's Web. And at night, they ventured around partying and getting into all sorts of mischief.

It was nice to be part of an elite squad. Camille had to admit that the attention on her was making the group more and more appealing. No matter how much her mother protested, Camille stayed with them. 

Camille squirmed in her chair, not knowing where this was going. Whatever it was, it couldn't be good. 

Camille's mother loved her very much. They were as close as two could be. Her mother had taught her everything there was to know about magic from spells to potions. Her favorite past time was gardening all of the herbs and plants that they'd use to make the latest potions. Their bonding time was deeper than other witches'. 

"Je t'aime beaucoup. C'est dur pour moi de faire ça," (I love you very much. It's hard for me to do this) her mother looked out the window and sighed. 

Camille frowned and crossed her arms. What was her mother on about?

"Tu vas...au Canada. Tu y étudieres," (You are going to Canada. You will study there) her mother said sadly.

"Maman!" Camille got up in protest.

She didn't want to leave her friends behind. She had spent most of her life there in France. To leave to a foreign country was too much to bear. She knew that her mother had good intentions, but it was hurting her to know that her mother was wanting to send her away. After all they had been through together, and her mother was going to toss her aside.

"Ne discute pas avec moi! La semaine dernière, tu as transformé ton professeur en crapaud! Trop c'est trop!" (Don't argue with me. Last week, you turned your teacher into a toad. Enough is enough) her mother thundered in the room.

Camille fell silent. She knew when to be quiet. 

Her mother was scary when she was angry. Her brows furrowed and made her face sag like an old bag. Her mouth widened wide enough that a basketball could fit inside. The entire house shook whenever she yelled. Whenever Camille was in trouble, the entire neighborhood knew.

"Tu dois rester loin d'eux....des cristaux sombres...surtout Jasper," (You have to stay away from them...the Dark Crystals, especially Jasper," her mother waved her hand and let a magic book float over to them. She navigated it to Camille's lap and let it settle there nicely.

"Dans ce livre, il y a beaucoup de choses merveilleuses. Il faut les respecter." (In this book, there are many wonderful things. We must respect them) 

"Je sais, maman," (I know, mom) Camille said while rolling her eyes.

"Je ne pense pas que tu fais. Si tu le faisais, tu ne serais pas avec Jasper," (I don't think you do. If you did, you wouldn't be with Jasper). 

Jasper clearly didn't have the best representation around town. He was known to be a broken boy back from the countryside. Ever since he came to Paris, there had been nothing but trouble. More crimes had been reported, and people had gone missing. But his arrival could've been coincidence. He was so good to Camille. He gave her a pretty, purple crystal necklace and said that she was prettier than any crystal he could ever give her. 

Camille didn't want to be away from Jasper. She had to find a way to stay!

Ethan woke up from the bed in confusion. This dream wasn't a nightmare. It was a memory of Camille in France. The only problem was that Ethan only understood so much French.

He hopped up from his bed and searched for paper and a pen. Soon, he found what he needed. He tried to think back to everything they had said and quickly jotted out the words. He glanced back and read them to himself, trying to see if he could think of anything.

What he realized was worse than he imagined.

Camille was not just a vampire. She was a witch!

A vampire and witch combination were the worst combination. At least, that's what Ethan assumed. Did he dare to tell Benny? He had to, right?

Never mind that. Ethan grabbed an English to French dictionary to see if he could figure out the rest of that dream. This could be the closest he had gotten to the clues!


	13. October Thirteenth

Ethan knew not to say anything to Benny. He didn't want to put him in harms way. But he knew that he could trust Sarah. She had been the person that was there for him when no one else was, when no one else could be. Man, if he wasn't so hung up on Benny, he'd be going after Sarah.

Why couldn't he like Sarah still? She was pretty and fun and super down to earth. Sarah was reliable and always kept her word. Out of everyone, she was the most logical too. A pretty, kind, and smart girl was the killer combination. So, why was it so hard for Ethan to fall for her?

Ethan surmised that love had to be the problem. Love was set up to fail. It was by no means a perfect system. You try to find the one person that is special to you, you date, and if you realize that you aren't meant to be then you completely cut that person out of you life. Why is that? How is it that we found that person to be so special before but were able to easily cast them away as if they had meant nothing to us at all? People weren't careful with their old belongings. And Ethan was learning little by little that people are getting less sentimental. 

But why Benny? Benny was his best friend. Benny was a straight male. You can't change someone's orientation. That wasn't fair to ask of someone, gay or straight. He couldn't put that kind of pressure on him. It wasn't worth it. Ethan would lose someone dear to him, all because Benny would know how he felt. Ethan would still be the same Ethan that Benny knew, but just a slight shift in perspective was all it took.

"What's up?" Sarah asked when she entered Ethan's bedroom, snapping him out of his thoughts.

He looked up at her from his bed and slid himself to the edge of it. 

With trepidation, Sarah teetered over to his bed and sat next to him. 

Here went nothing.

"So, it's about Camille," Ethan started.

Sarah growled. Clearly, she wasn't on the best of terms with the vampire.

"What is it this time? Did you catch her sucking the life out of Benny?" she asked.

That would make sense. Ethan paused. What if that was what her intentions were? She wanted to seduce Benny! Considering the fact that Benny had magical powers like hers, it would make sense that she wanted that. Maybe she wanted her and Benny to rule over Whitechapel. Since he was easy to manipulate, he would do everything she wanted and not try to take over himself.

Camille was the type to lead. She was the kind of person to get what she wanted. Ethan learned that from the few dreams he had about her.

"I have two major things to tell you," Ethan said.

"Okay," Sarah nodded, ready for him to explain.

"The other day, Camille invited me to the rose bushes near the school. I told you she was going to do that," Ethan said.

"Yeah, I remember," Sarah said, though it sounded like she wanted him to get on with it already.

"She told me she was a vampire," Ethan said worryingly.

"What?" Sarah asked. She didn't sound shocked. She sounded confused.

"I know, right? I knew she had something to do with Jesse, but I didn't think she would flat out tell me," Ethan scratched the back of his neck.

"No, Ethan, I didn't hear you. What did she tell you?" Sarah asked. 

Ethan paused. What?

"I just told you that she's a vampire," Ethan said.

"Ethan, you're going to have to speak up," Sarah crossed her arms and gave him an irritated look.

Ethan was growing more impatient by the second.

"I just said she was a vampire," Ethan said a little louder.

"What?" Sarah tried again.

"Camille is a vampire!" Ethan yelled.

"If you're here to just play tricks on me, then I'm leaving," Sarah got up, but her arm was grabbed by Ethan, keeping her in place.

"I can't tell you," Ethan said.

Sarah frowned and looked down at him.

"What do you mean, you can't tell me?"

"I mean, I can't tell you. Like, it's physically impossible for me to. It's almost like..."

It hit Ethan. She had put him under a spell. That cursed French woman put Ethan under a spell.

He knew that girl was up to no good! But how could he fix this? He didn't know what spell she used. He supposed that he could talk to Benny's grandmother about it. She would be more knowledgeable about this kind of witchcraft.

Whatever it was, Ethan knew that it couldn't be good. Casting a spell that prevented someone from saying things didn't sound exactly friendly. He didn't even notice that she had casted a spell on him. When had she done it?

There were so many questions rambling through Ethan's head that were going unanswered.

"Ethan...Ethan, are you okay?" Sarah asked, concerned. She felt the side of his face.

"Woah, Ethan, you're burning up," Sarah commented. 

"You're a vampire. Of course, I feel hot to you," Ethan said, refusing to believe that anything was wrong with him, though there definitely was. He could sense it. All the head from his core was rushing to his face.

"You should get some rest. I'll call your mom to check on you," Sarah began.

"No! It's okay, really. I'm fine. I just didn't sleep that much last night. Don't worry about me. You should go home," Ethan said.

Sarah walked over to the door and glanced back at Ethan, unsure whether to leave him alone or not.

"You sure you're okay?" she asked.

"Yes. I'm fine."

And with that, she left and slowly shut the door behind her.

Ethan let out a small sigh and snuggled back up in bed. Oh, Camille. What had you done to him?


	14. October Fourteenth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not updating yesterday. I wasn't feeling well. I will be posting two chapters tonight, so look out for chapter fifteen!

Ethan hadn't been able to hang out with Benny since his adventures with Camille. She had him tied all weekend. Benny kept requesting to hang out with Ethan, but each time he had been refused because of her. After three times, it was evident that it was getting on the best friend's nerves. 

On Monday, Ethan and Benny finally had the chance to reconvene. But rather than greeting each other with a, "What's up?" a different question arose.

“What’s up with you and Camille?” Benny asked pointedly. 

Ethan looked around. Was he seriously asking him that? Maybe Benny was still jealous of their relationship, but as far as Ethan could tell, there was nothing to be jealous of. She wasn't after him for romantic intentions, that much Ethan could gather. His visions had told him that there was something odd about the way that Camille so easily gave into Jasper but not Jesse. There had to be more to her story back in France. He just needed to figure out what that was. Who was this Jasper guy? What were his intentions with the Dark Crystals?

“What do you mean?” 

Ethan strode down the hallway and approached his locker. Benny hovered next to him, not willing to put down the argument. Just as Ethan opened his locker, Benny slammed it and locked angry eyes with Ethan.

Incredulously, Ethan snapped his attention to him and crossed his arms across his chest.

“It seems like you find her more important than me,” Benny said.

Was this really a conversation? Ethan didn't expect Benny to say that. He expected him to be accusatory of trying to steal the girl he likes. But he was focusing on their friendship. That was news to Ethan!

“Come on, you know that’s not true,” Ethan said.

“Really? Then, why do you keep ditching me for her?” Benny asked.

Ethan looked away, like a guilty person being put on the spot. 

“I…I can’t tell you,” Ethan said.

He wanted to tell him. He really did. But there was something him that was keeping him from saying anything. Even if he did tell Benny, it wasn't as if Benny would believe him at this point. Benny seemed so preoccupied with love that he was ignoring his best friend. So what right did he have to try and tell him off? 

“Wow, another lie. If you are dating, you can tell me,” Benny said.

“We’re not dating,” Ethan said strongly, glancing back up in his eyes to try and convince him that he was telling the truth.

He wasn't covered in scented perfumes or littered with kisses on the side of his face and neck. Benny had no proof to his claim other than knowing that they were spending time together. He and Sarah spent plenty of time together, and no one ever believed it to be romantic. Benny also didn't have a crush on Sarah, so his thoughts wouldn't be as irrational.

“Why are you always together then?” Benny asked.

“It’s complicated. I really can’t tell you,” Ethan said.

“You can’t tell your best friend why you’re ditching him?” Benny asked.

Ugh. He hated that he put it that way. That was not what Ethan meant at all. Of course, more than anything, he wanted to be able to tell his best friend and have him believe him. But their situation was complicated, and a simple, "Haha, she's a vampire witch," wasn't going to cut it. 

“Don’t tell me you two are fighting,” Sarah said as she and Erica approached the bickering couple.

“We aren’t. We’re having a civil discussion,” Ethan said, not wanting to bring more people into this than they had to. Preferably, they could end this conversation here.

“Civil war discussion,” Benny retorted.

Ethan rolled his eyes.

“Can that wait, because I don’t feel like listening to bickering,” Erica said.

“You know you can walk away,” Benny snapped back.

“Walk away?” Camille interrupted.

“Oh great, what do you want?” Ethan asked.

She didn't have to be there now, did she? This was the worst timing, on everybody's part.

“I just wanted to invite all of you to my Halloween bash,” Camille said with a sweet grin. She looked at all of them.

She wanted all of them to come? But she didn't like Sarah. 

“Us?” Sarah asked, pointing at herself and Erica for clarification.

“But of course! It will be fantastique! Invite your blonde friend too,” Camille said while clapping her hands. 

She wanted to invite Rory?! This wasn't making any sense. She didn't even know him.

“Sweet! Can I invite DnD club?” Benny asked.

Ethan and Benny were the proud founders of the DnD, aka Dungeons and Dragons, club. There were only two other members besides themselves and Rory. They were also the coolest guys that Benny and Ethan knew. At least, in their opinion, they were cool.

“I’m afraid not mon cher. This is very exclusive,” Camille said with a pat on Benny's shoulder.

Benny looked uncomfortable by her touch and shrugged her away.

Ethan frowned at that. Benny would usually melt like butter in the touch of some pretty girl. Seeing him avoid touch was completely unlike him.

“Then why would you invite Rory?” Benny asked.

That was true. Why would she invite Rory? Rory was the last person to invite to an exclusive party. Actually, all three of them were the last people on anyone's minds.

“Rory is unique. I like that,” Camille said with a nod.

Sarah cocked an eyebrow at her, clearly not believing a word this rat said.

“Thanks, we’ll think about it,” Sarah said.

Her thanks was coated with sarcasm. 

“I hope to see you all there,” Camille said. She walked away with a little prance in her step, leaving four dumbfounded people by the lockers.

"Us?" Ethan asked again.

"Us?" Sarah repeated.

"I don't know why you guys are surprised. We are finally part of the popular crowd!" Benny cheered.

Benny had no idea what he was accepting an invitation to. Frankly, Ethan had no idea too.


	15. October Fifteenth

"Video games on Tuesday, right?" Benny asked with a grin, wanting to make up for their kerfuffle in the beginning of school.

"Totally," Ethan agreed.

Replaying those memories back in his mind, Ethan began to panic. Crud! He had forgotten all about that. Instead of playing video games with Benny, he was outside with Camille at a local park. Not many people were out at the park at this time because it was too cold.

Guilt washed over him at the realization that he had once again ditched his friend for the crazy vampire witch. 

"What is wrong, Ethan?" Camille asked when noticing that he fell silent.

Ethan glanced over at her and sighed. "Nothing."

There was no way that he was letting her know about his and Benny's drama. That could be part of her scheme or something. Ethan didn't know entirely what her deal was and was getting irritated by the fact that he still didn't know. After talking to her for a couple of weeks, all he learned was that she was somehow tied to Jesse, was a vampire, was a witch, and used to affiliate with a group known as the Dark Crystals back in France. Though it sounded like a lot of progress, it was slow for Ethan. Usually, he got that within the first few days. 

"Actually, there is something," Ethan decided to say.

'What is that?" 

Camille and Ethan were sitting in the grass, playing with the dead leaves that littered the ground. Ethan plucked at one of the leaves, tearing off the dead parts and letting them scattered into the ground. 

Ethan loved to play with leaves. He remembered when he was a kid, how he would make leaf piles and jump into them like they were a pool. Sometimes, he'd make little angels in the piles. His mother would scold him for messing up the backyard, while his father laughed at his silliness. He missed the days when he was still a kid and not worrying about the next monster attack on his town. Life was much simpler back then.

"I got a vision of you...I know you're a witch," Ethan said.

Camille fell silent and looked at the ground.

Did she not want him to know that? He supposed not considering she hadn't told him that when she told him she was a vampire. But why wouldn't she want him to know that?

"I'm sorry I did not tell you of that sooner," Camille said softly.

Ethan crossed his legs and settled his hands in his lap. The nerd looked at her attentively, waiting for her to continue.

"Being a witch...it is a part of my life that I do not like to look back to."

"What do you mean look back to? You're still a witch, aren't you?" Ethan asked, confused.

She seemed to like being a witch before. Heck, she had casted many spells from what Ethan could tell. He doubted that the Dark Crystals allowed amateurs into their group, from the sounds of it. What made her so weary of magic now? 

"I am...but I do not use magic any longer," Camille admitted.

What? If Camille didn't use magic anymore, then who was the person that casted a spell on him? Were there other people in the works that he hadn't met yet? Did this have to do with the Dark Crystals? Ethan scooted closer to see if he could get a better read of her. He couldn't tell if she was lying or not.

"Why is that?" he asked her gently. 

Camille gave him a stern look. "Magic isn't always good, Ethan. In theory, it is wonderful. But in the wrong hands, it is the most destructive creation to mankind."

What kind of magic had she dealt with?

"Not all magic is bad," Ethan prompted her, hoping that would trigger her into saying more than she wished to say.

"Ethan...you think too kindly," Camille sighed and picked at the blades of grass between her fingertips. "I could revive this grass. It could be alive again. But that would go against the laws of nature. Who are we to tell mother nature what to do with what belongs to her? Is it fair to break her laws and not be punished? In the human world, we are locked away for our crimes. But what happens when we commit crimes of nature?" 

Ethan hadn't thought of that before. Whenever someone did something unruly with magic, it was up to him to stop it. Where were the higher ups to stop people from attacking humans with magic? There was a vampire counsel. Why wasn't there a witches counsel?

"You bring up some fair points," Ethan admitted.

"I have had magic in my life ever since I have had memories. For years, I have considered these things," Camille whispered.

"Who's Jasper?" Ethan asked carefully, hoping that he wasn't going too far by asking that.

"We do not speak of him," Camille said sharply.

"Does he have something to do with your hate for magic?"

"We do not speak of him!" she almost shouted.

Taken aback, Ethan silenced himself and watched her angrily pull out more grass. His finger trailed over to her hand resting on the ground, wanting to see if he could get a vision. 

She jerked her hand back. "You may get away with using your powers on those unsuspecting but do not dare to try them on me. It is not fair to take the knowledge of others that they do not wish of you to know." 

Again, Ethan hadn't thought about that before. When she put it that way, he sounded like a terrible person. Without the consent of that person, he was able to find out about their past, present, and future. Was it right that he used magic? He hadn't questioned himself before. He just did as he thought it was best to do. He figured that his excuse of saving Whitechapel made up for his sleuthing, but he never did consider Camille.


	16. October Sixteenth

“Really Ethan?” Benny confronted him, seeming very agitated.

For context as to why Benny was so upset, Ethan had ditched Benny, yet again, for Camille yesterday. It wasn't that he planned on standing him up. It all happened too quickly. She invited him out and next thing he knew, he was flying on her back to the nearest movie theatre. The guy didn't have much of a choice.

“What?” Ethan asked, as if he had no idea what was going on. Of course, he did. But he’d never admit that.

“You ditched me, again! Gosh, whatever happened to pals before gals? You’re ruining the bro code,” Benny said angrily. He was  
so annoyed that Ethan kept hanging out with this new Camille chick.

“Like you wouldn’t do the same thing to me if the tables were turned,” Ethan said to him.

A truer statement had never been said. Though Benny would probably deny it, he would ditch Ethan if the opportunity arose for a girl to come into his life. The guy was more girl crazy than dogs were crazy about meat. If it came down to it, he'd do anything for the chance to be with a girl. They made him smitten.

“I wouldn’t because I know the importance of friendship,” Benny said, even though they both knew that was a lie.

Ethan and Benny were standing outside the courtyard at school, eating lunch. Ethan rolled his eyes at him and put down his peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

“Oh please. If Della asked you out, you’d ditch me in a heartbeat,” Ethan said.

“That’s not the point. You can’t blame me for things that haven’t happened yet. We’re talking about you right now,” Benny said.

What was this? Pretend to be a married couple quarreling day? 

“Okay, sure. Let’s talk about me. You’re jealous of me because you want to date Camille,” Ethan stated.

He couldn't believe how upset Benny was being. Camille wasn't worth being jealous over. Sure, she was pretty and all, but Benny knew nothing about her. It wasn't as if they had built some deep foundation or anything. She was just some new girl at school that showed interest in Ethan, mainly for reasons that he literally couldn't say.

“That is so not true,” Benny said, sounding hurt by the accusation. 

“Really? Why else would you be upset then?” Ethan asked.

“Maybe, because my best friend is ditching me to be with the enemy!” Benny said.

The enemy? The enemy to whom exactly? Benny wasn't aware of everything going on. It wasn't as if he could know that she was a vampire witch. By this point, Ethan's blood was boiling.

“She is not the enemy. She’s just a girl,” Ethan said pointedly. 

“Any girl that takes away guy time is an enemy,” Benny said.

Shocked by that response, Ethan raised and eyebrow and gave him a serious look. Was he really trying to say he was jealous that Camille was taking away his Ethan time? That was certainly unexpected.

“You’re not making any sense. Camille means nothing,” Ethan tried to explain.

“If that were the case, you’d drop her to hang out with me,” Benny said.

He couldn't just drop her. It wasn't that simple. She was a vampire witch up to no good. She had just invited the only known vampires at school to her Halloween party, and she has associated with a group called the Dark Crystals. At this rate, he might as well put her on a steak. 

“I don’t have to listen to you. I’m not your dog. Oh wait, I was two years ago when you turned me into one!” 

He was done with this. He didn't have to listen to Benny. 

“That was one time! How long are you going to hold onto that for?” Benny asked.

“Until I get over it,” Ethan said.

That was the problem with Benny. He didn't take anything seriously. When he messed up, he laughed it off and continued on as if nothing catastrophic had just happened. He accidentally made Ethan fall for him because of his impulsiveness. That was crossing the line. He had no consent into feeling this way, yet every time he was around him, his heart was singing. Ethan didn't ask for this. Ethan wanted to be the best friend that eventually dated his babysitter. But no. His best friend did something stupid because he doesn't care about the consequences of his actions, resulting in Ethan being damaged.

“Well, get over it already. Jeez, I just want to play Pokémon X and Y with you,” Benny countered.

“Benny, I don’t believe for one second that you are mad because I’m not hanging out with you. The real reason you’re acting like a   
baby is because your crush chose me and not you,” Ethan said harshly.

Ethan was too hurt to care what he was saying. And he was too over all of this. Pretending he didn't love Benny was becoming too painful for him. Watching Benny fawn over someone else was too much. He needed some space and time to move on. It was about time that Ethan gave himself that. He had been in love for more than a year and a half now.

“That’s really what you think of me? Wow. I can’t do this anymore,” Benny said softly, calming down from his eruption.

“Fine, then don’t,” Ethan responded curtly.

“Come find me when you stop acting like a jerk,” Benny said.

“You come find me when you stop needing a bottle to suck on!” Ethan retorted.

As if Ethan was the jerk! Ethan couldn't recall a time when he ever let Benny down, besides all of the Camille incidents. But Benny was always letting him down. No matter what, Benny didn't care. 

Benny shook his head and stormed away from Ethan. Yes, they were having a falling out.

Ethan wanted to feel relieved, but he felt himself wanting to call him back to him. Still, he resisted the temptation. He needed to do this for himself. He had to get over Benny.


	17. October Seventeenth

If Ethan were to be honest with himself, he wasn't entirely certain as to why he and Benny were in an argument. It was good, in Ethan's opinion, to have the space, but he wished that the space would've been in better terms. For a while now, he had considered asking his friend to give him time. He needed to heal from the wounds caused by Benny's mess.

As much as Ethan didn't want to, he resented Benny for what he did. He hated the actions that caused him to be this way. Though it probably wasn't true, Ethan believed that Benny was the cause of him falling in love. In actuality, he would've figured out eventually that he had feelings for Benny all along. The spell just sped up the time that it would've taken for him to realize that fact. Maybe Ethan didn't know it consciously, but he could be spending time with Camille to get back at Benny for what he had done to him. 

Ethan didn't want to admit that he was angry at Benny. He didn't want to acknowledge that seeing Benny upset with all the time he was spending with Camille made him secretly confused and happy, but it did. He didn't like that part of himself. It was ugly. No one should ever do things in the name of revenge or to see others suffer. That was a nasty trait in anybody.

Fortunately for Ethan, he had another good reason to keep a watchful eye on her. After all he had discovered about Camille, it would be irresponsible of him not to focus on her. So, even if Ethan wanted to stop spending time with her, he couldn't. He had a duty to the human race to watch out for her. He couldn't stop just to please one of his friends. That would be immature. 

"Are you okay?"

Ethan snapped out of his thoughts and looked up to see a concerned Sarah looking down at him. He was sitting in the grass, eating lunch by himself outside. His jacket was the only thing keeping him warm. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he hadn't even noticed it was cold outside.

"Why do you ask?" 

Sarah gave him a look and settled next to him, crossing her legs and sighing. "You and Benny haven't said a word to each other all day today. That's very unlike you."

Ethan guessed the cat was out of the bag. With a huff, he stared down at the ground and grabbed at an abandoned stick next to his leg. He started tracing random circles in front of him. "You noticed."

"The most iconic monster hunting duo in Whitechapel aren't on speaking terms. Of course, I noticed," Sarah chuckled. She turned her head and tried to read him. "What's up?"

There was no way Ethan would ever tell Sarah that he had a thing for Benny. That was a secret he kept buried deep down inside, never to be uncovered. His hurting was going to be alone. None of his friends even knew that he was bisexual. He had just come to terms with it himself. Who knew how Sarah would react if she found out he was different? Who knew what Rory would say?

No. This was something bigger than himself. Once he was ready to accept himself, then he could tell others. But he would never tell them about Benny.

"Ethan?" Sarah asked kindly. She could tell this wasn't easy for him.

"What do you think?" Ethan asked. From an outsider's perspective, what did it look like?

"It seems like Benny wants his best friend back," Sarah said thoughtfully.

That was what Ethan wanted to. He hadn't been the same in so long. He wanted himself back too. But until they spent some time apart, he wasn't going to be able to find himself again. It was time to get over him. Time is the best healer.

"I want him back too," Ethan said with a voice lighter than a feather. 

Sarah placed a hand on his shoulder and nodded her head in understanding. "Where did he go?" 

"Somewhere far away from here," Ethan admitted.

"Why is that?" 

He wasn't playing this game. He wasn't going to tell Sarah that the reason he had trouble sleeping at night was due to dreams of Camille or thinking about Benny. There was no way that he was going to admit that he had known he loved Benny for quite some time now. No matter how nice she was being, he would never say it.

"Because life," Ethan said as vaguely as possible.

"You're going to need to be a little more specific if you want my help," Sarah said. She removed her hand from his shoulder and placed it in her lap.

"I didn't ask for anyone's help. I just need space," Ethan said. He wasn't rude about it. He was stating a fact. No one was going to be of use in this situation. He needed space.

Ethan was certain that Rory was trying to console Benny by now. Poor Benny having to deal with Rory. Rory was not exactly a philosopher. 

"I get it. Getting over a crush is tough," Sarah said with a little laugh.

Huh?!

Ethan looked at her in shock.

"Don't act so surprised. You aren't exactly subtle," Sarah teased. She nudged him lightly. He nudged her back. 

Was he really that obvious?

"I don't have a crush on him," Ethan said weakly.

"Ethan, I've known you for three years now. I know when you're lying," Sarah sassed.

He fell quiet and looked back at the ground.

"I'm not going to say anything. I don't even think you should say anything to Benny. I know it's 2013, but we still have a long way to go with that stuff...and we don't know if Benny is...you know..." 

"Yeah, I know," Ethan said with an exhausted sigh.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out. In the meantime, just know that I'm here for you," Sarah grinned.

Ethan felt warmth spread in his chest. He really wished he was still crushing on her. She had a heart of gold. Her support made him feel better and safer. At least he had a friend to confide to during difficult times. Maybe it wasn't so bad to come out to someone after all.


	18. October Eighteenth

How could Ethan explain his most recent dream to Sarah without exposing who Camille was?

He couldn't say, "Hey Sarah! Camille is a vampire witch!" because that apparently didn't end well for him. But his dream last night was not a dream as much as it was a warning.

In Ethan's dream, Camille was standing outside of a cave with four other unknown people. Beaming at the mouth of the cave was a bright purple color. When it shut out, they team went inside to investigate. There, they found an unknown deep purple crystal with sparkles stuck inside.

Camille took the crystal home with her that night. After casting a spell that he didn't understand, she made a silver necklace out of it and strung it around her neck. 

Ethan hadn't remembered her ever wearing a silver necklace at school.

Then, the dream continued.

Camille was in the forest, wearing the necklace, and was being chased by Jesse and his team. They all wanted to attack her right away, but she kept dodging their every advance. As she went to grab her necklace, she noticed that it no longer was there. Somehow, it had fallen. Jesse turned her into a vampire, much to the witch's dismay.

Camille didn't seem pleased that she was turned into a cold blooded killer. The girl screamed at him in French and continually hit him. Satisfied, he dragged her along with the rest of his gang. She vowed that she would take revenge on Jesse and anyone who associated with him. 

The dream ended with a vision of exactly where the crystal necklace was. It was buried beneath the soil of a tree near the school in the forest. Only Ethan's vision would've been able to help a person spot where it was.

In his living room, Sarah and Jane were playing Dance Dance Revolution, laughing with each other as they poorly danced along to the people in the videos.

Meanwhile, Ethan was trying to figure out how to warn Sarah. How could he warn her without giving away who Camille was?

Later that night, Sarah put Jane to bed. On the couch, Ethan patiently waited for her to finish.

"Your parents said they'd be home in about twenty minutes. Your mom just texted me," Sarah said when she was descending down the staircases.

Ethan nodded.

"I have something important to tell you," Ethan said.

Here goes nothing. He would be sick for the rest of the night if he got too close to telling. That was the worst case scenario...he hoped.

Concerned, Sarah made her way over to him and plopped beside him on the couch.

"Is this about Benny?" she asked.

He didn't want to think about Benny. Ethan's love life, or lack thereof, was the last thing on his mind. The safety of his friends and the town were much more important.

He shook his head. "No. It's about Jesse, actually."

"Ugh, what about that jerk?"

Ever since Jesse attempted to turn Ethan into a vampire, Sarah had been bitter about his name. Before, she could say his name and cringe. Now, she didn't even want to hear his name. On occasion, she referred to him as 'J'.

"I had a vision last night...he wronged somebody...and I think they're after you because of it," Ethan said.

Camille. She had to know that he was talking about Camille.

Sarah frowned and crossed her arms. She tried thinking who that could be about.

"Is it the person we have been suspecting?" she guessed, knowing that Ethan couldn't directly say who it was.

Ethan nodded his head.

"I knew it!" Sarah's eyes lit up.

So, that was what the whole Jesse thing was about. Jesse wasn't back. Camille's connections were that she hated him.

"I have a feeling it has something to do with something else I saw in my vision," he said.

"What else did you see?"

"A purple crystal...I don't know what it's for, but I know that it holds powers of some sort. I just wish I knew its name," he sighed and tried thinking if they had mentioned anything about it. "I don't think they have it now though."

"Who has it then?"

"No one, I think. It's buried somewhere near the school," Ethan said.

"Whatever you do, you can't let them know that you know," Sarah said seriously. 

Ethan knew that. He knew better than to trust someone with the crystal. Sure, Camille said that she hadn't used magic in a while, but that didn't mean that the crystal was weak. On the bright side, she might be easier to defeat with her lack of skills.

"I wonder if their party has something to do with it," Sarah said thoughtfully.

"I thought about that too. I think we need to find the crystal and figure out what it means," Ethan said.

"So...how did he wrong this person?" she asked.

"Jesse? He turned them into...you know..."

Sarah's eyes widened. He saw the wheels in her head slowly turning. Did she figure out anything else? He didn't know.

"And that's not all. This person is like Benny too," Ethan said.

Sarah looked very worried after that remark. A vampire witch? Who knew what they were capable of?

"How long have you known about this?"

She was very quizzical tonight.

"Just for a couple of days. I was trying to figure out how to tell you," he admitted,

Sarah sighed and stared at the wall ahead of her. 

He could tell that she was devising a plan. He trusted her to make the planning, considering that she had past experience with Jesse.

"Did you ever recognize her from the original gang?" Ethan asked.

"No...I guess he got to her before me," Sarah said lightly.

As he was about to speak again, the front door flew open.

"Phew! Who knew that bowling could take its toll on you?" Ethan's mom said with exhaustion.

The teens got up from the couch and went to greet the parents.

"Jane is already in bed tucked away," Sarah said.

"Thank you, Sarah," his mother pulled out some cash and handed it to her.

"Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Morgan. Goodnight!" Sarah waved them off. 

She gave Ethan a look behind them. That look said, "We're going to talk about this more tomorrow!"


	19. October Nineteenth

After school, Ethan and Sarah planned to search for the necklace together. He and Benny, unfortunately, were still not on speaking terms with each other. 

As much as Ethan wanted to drag Benny along on the adventure, he still needed his space. And somehow, Sarah knew that because she didn't bring Benny up either. Call it women's intuition or whatever, but she knew that Ethan needed space just as much as he knew it. Poor Benny seemed to be the only person out of the loop.

Stepping over the thick roots of a nearby tree, Ethan stumbled his way inside the forest with gloves on and a small shovel in his hand. He planned on digging that sucker up before anyone else did! 

Sarah followed behind, with a larger shovel, and looked around to make sure no one was near them. This was definitely a two person job. If either of them got caught, they needed back up.

"Where exactly is this crystal supposed to be?" Sarah asked with annoyance after she stuck her face into a spiderweb glued between two trees.

"Sh! Don't mention that word," Ethan said hastily to her. 

Sarah shut up and decided that they would find it whenever Ethan decided they found it.

He shuffled his foot around the disturbed soil, like a person with a metal detector on the search for treasure.

Sarah gave him a weird look.

"Here," he said at last.

"You're sure?"

"I just got a vision, so I'm fairly certain," Ethan said.

Sarah came up and jammed her shovel into the hardened ground. The strong vampire flung the dirt from the ground and a few meters away from them.

Ethan knelt down and made tiny digs. "Careful! If you dig too deep, you'll lose it," he warned.

Sarah rolled her eyes and knelt across from him, deciding to make tiny digs with him even though she knew it would take longer to find.

Minutes of silence later, and Sarah was getting bored of staring at the same clumps of dirt.

"So, you and Benny," she started.

"Can we not focus on that right now?" Ethan asked irritably.

"Well it's more interesting than this," she said, gesturing to their fascinating adventures of finding earthworms and small rocks.

He sighed.

"What are you going to do?" she asked gently.

"Nothing,"

"Nothing?"

Ethan stopped digging for a moment and looked up at her. "Nothing. I'm going to keep my distance, move on, and then pretend as if nothing ever happened."

Sarah frowned. "That's it?"

Ethan went back to digging and nodded his head.

"You can't just go back to how you were after this, can you? This is a pretty big falling out," Sarah acknowledged.

"It's not a falling out...it's a break. We can get back together after a break. We aren't Ross and Rachel."

Sarah smirked at the Friends reference, surprised he hadn't opted for a nerdier one.

"You want to be more like Monica and Chandler," she teased.

Ethan flung some dirt at her. 

"Hey!" Sarah laughed, glad that Ethan was loosening up a bit.

She scooped up a bit of dirt in her palms and tossed at back at him, watching as the pieces scattered across his face and chest.

"Wait!"

Sarah stopped and looked at the ground with him.

Ethan sifted through the soil and let his fingers dance in the ground. Slowly, he pulled a silver necklace with a large purple crystal attached to it out from its grave.

"'Woah..." Sarah stared at it in awe and reached out for it.

Ethan pulled it away. "Careful! We don't know what this will do in the hands of a vampire," Ethan warned.

"Mon collier!"

In shock, the two looked up to see Camille a few meters away with a large smile on her face.

Ethan gulped. Crud! What did they do now?

"What?" Sarah asked, not understanding what was just said, though she assumed it was something about the necklace.

"This belongs to you?" Ethan asked while pointing to it.

She nodded and slowly approached with a soft smile on her face.

Ethan gripped tighter onto it and stood up. Sarah got up and went in front of him protectively. If there was a fight about to happen, she was sure she could take Camille.

"What is this about?" Camille asked sadly.

"Don't play innocent. Why would you have a necklace out here?" Sarah snapped, getting into a fighting stance. She didn't want Camille to know that she knew, but she still had to protect her friend and the necklace.

"Sarah...we are one in the same, you and I. If I were you, I would not get in between this," Camille warned, still acting charming. She didn't seem threatening, just impatient.

"What do you mean?" Sarah asked.

Ethan frowned. One in the same? What the heck was she alluding to there? Did that even make sense? They were vampires that were used by Jesse. As far as Ethan knew, that was as similar as they got.

Camille stepped closer until there was only a gap left between her and Sarah. "The more I say, the more you will fail to understand. It is better to stop questioning here."

"You can have the necklace when you answer her question," Ethan said from behind. 

Camille cocked her head and smirked. "Is that so?"

Ethan hesitated but then nodded.

Without even realizing it, the necklace was snatched from behind. Ethan turned around to see who had stolen it, but no one was to be seen. 

"What the-?"

"Merci, Reed," Camille said. The necklace floated away and in a flash was handed back to her.

"Do not fear what is to happen. Just know that it was meant to be this way," Camille said sweetly.

Sarah lunged at her but was pushed back by an unknown force. It felt like a person.

And with that, Camille launched into the sky with the necklace around her neck.

"So much for backup," Ethan grumbled to himself.

"Who is Reed?" Sarah asked.

"I don't know. But something tells me there are other," Ethan said.

"Something is definitely not right," Sarah said with a shake of her head.

She could say that again.


	20. October Twentieth

As much as Ethan didn't want to, he knew that he had to go to Benny about this. He had to fight magic with magic, and his seer abilities weren't going to cut it. If Ethan relied on him and Sarah's strength alone, he feared what he would see for the future.

So, he had to swallow his pride and visit Benny's house on Sunday. He wouldn't bring up any of his feelings. This would strictly be a business meeting.

Gulping the nervous ball in the back of his throat, he knocked on Benny's front door with a stammering heart. For some reason, it was scary to try and reconcile with him. He didn't know why.

The door swung open to reveal Benny's grandmother, surprised to see Ethan apparently, and warmly smiled at him.

“Ethan?” she asked, sounding pleased that he was giving his friend a visit.

“Hi, is Benny home?” Ethan asked, peering behind her to see any traces of his friend inside.

“Yes, he’s upstairs. I’d be careful if I were you. He’s not in the best mood,” she warned. He had a feeling he knew why that was.

Did Benny's grandmother know about their falling out? He didn't see Benny as the ranting type, so she probably had no clue as to what had happened between them.

Ethan mustered up enough courage to enter the house and saunter up the stairs. He strolled down the hallway and approached Benny's bedroom door. 

Boom. Boom. Boom.

Ethan didn't know if he'd be able to control his heart or not. Taking in a few deep breaths, he lifted his hand timidly and knocked on the door three times.

“Benny?” he called out nervously.

He received silence on the other end.

“Benny, I know you’re home,” Ethan said.

“Go away,” Benny said sadly to him.

Sad. Why was Benny sad? Ethan expected anger more than sadness.

“Please. Benny, I’m sorry,” Ethan said. He only heard the sound of his beating heart now. “I know, I’ve been a jerk. I don’t know what’s gotten over me. But it’s gone,” Ethan said. 

He knew that his time spent with Camille must've hurt Benny considering they were best friends. After thinking by himself, he realized that it wasn't fair to Benny to punish him when he didn't even know he had done anything wrong. Though Ethan still wanted space, he also wanted to give Benny a fair chance. 

Nothing. 

“Look, I need your help with Camille. I can’t perfectly explain to you what is going on, but I can try. Whitechapel needs us,” Ethan said. 

Still, silence.

“I brought Pokémon X and Y,” Ethan said. Suddenly, the door was open.

“You had me at help with Camille,” Benny said.

Ethan could see the dark bags pooling beneath Benny's eyes. Concerned, he frowned but said nothing. Had their friendship been this troubling to him? His scampering heart sank at the realization that he could be causing this much stress to him. Even though it was Benny's fault considering he casted the love spell on Ethan, Ethan felt as if he was the one to blame. He was just kind hearted like that.

Benny allowed Ethan inside and closed the door behind him after entering. Benny sat on the edge of his bed. Wanting to avoid any confusion, Ethan opted to see at Benny's desk chair. 

“So, why have you been ditching me?” Benny asked.

“I can’t exactly tell you. I made a promise with her, and it’s like, impossible to tell you,” Ethan said.

He couldn't tell Benny the entire truth. "Sorry, Benny. I actually know that I'm in love with you and want space to give myself time to get over you. Haha. Isn't that funny?" No, he couldn't dare say that. But he could mention Camille.

They both sensed not to talk about their argument just yet. Neither of them were ready to confront their feelings about the situation. It was good that they had a focus. Camille was a better focus than their emotions. Teenage boys never knew what to do with their feelings. Heck, teenagers in general didn't understand their feelings.

“Okay, so how am I supposed to help?” Benny asked.

“Maybe, I can hint. What is something Rory, Erica, and Sarah all have in common?” 

“They’re all vampires,” Benny answered.

“Right. Camille has something in common with them too,” Ethan said.

Ethan watched Benny paused, the wheels slowly turning in his head.

“Camille is a vampire!” Benny said with a snap of his fingers.

“I can’t confirm or deny that,” Ethan said.

“So, what? She’s trying to steal people’s blood?” Benny asked.

“I’m not done yet. Remember Stephanie?” Ethan asked.

“The evil witch cheerleader?” Benny asked.

“Yes,” Ethan said. “She has something in common with her too."

“They’re both hot,” Benny said.

“Yes, but what else?” Ethan said while rolling his eyes. He wasn't wrong. They were both hot, but that was besides the point.

“They’re both witches!” Benny said. His face fell. “Oh, that can’t be good.”

“It isn’t. I’ve been having these dreams about being attacked by Jesse. It turns out, they were visions from Camille. She’s mad at Jesse for turning her into a you know what,” Ethan said.

“What does that mean for us?” Benny asked with a contorted facial expression,

“I have a feeling that her Halloween party has something to do with it. So far, she’s only invited vampires,” Ethan said.

“What has she told you?” Benny asked.

“Not much, but that's not all. She has a possession of this purple crystal. I don't know what powers it has, but I think it has something to do with her party. That’s why I’ve been spending so much time with her. I have to get this information,” Ethan explained.

“This is troubling. Sarah and Rory could be in danger,” Benny said.

“Don’t forget Erica,” Ethan said.

“She can take care of herself. Oh! If she and Camille had a cat fight, that’d be so hot,” Benny said.

Ethan sighed but let out a small smile. The iconic duo was back!


	21. October Twenty-First

All day Sunday, Ethan and Benny were researching extensively in search of what the crystal meant. Books upon books were read, all trying to find one depiction of the crystal she possessed. Even Benny's grandmother tried to help as best she could, but being told that it was "purple" and "sparkly" didn't give her much information to go off of.

They had to read page by page to see the descriptions of each crystal, including origin and color. Most of the crystals they read about were from Brazil and India, places that were no where near France. One would think that the more niche something was, the easier it was to find because it narrowed the search engine, but that also meant that there would be less information to find about it.

On Monday, after school, Ethan and Benny rushed to Benny's house to read more books. As they entered Benny's grandmother's lair, they saw her glued to a page in a giant book that was at least one hundred years old.

Though her eyes were trained to the words, Ethan could tell that there was something off about her demeanor. She looked uncomfortable as she was reading, like something was unsettling her. With a gulp, Ethan walked towards her to see what exactly she was reading.

There it was. "Le cristal de la renaissance" aka "The crystal of rebirth" was also known as "sang violet" or "purple blood". 

"Those that possess the Sang Violet are granted the abilities to bleed out their victims by the utterance of the word 'sang' while looking at their victim. Only possessors with true blood are granted these abilities. In doing so, the victim will experience faintness and slowly bleed out from their souls. The possessor may then consume the victim's blood. If the victim is of the supernatural kind, and the possessor consumes their bled souls, the possessor will consume any power that the victim once had," Ethan read out loud. 

He and Benny gave each other a concerned look. 

"What does that mean?" Benny asked, not wanting to truly know the answer.

His grandmother bookmarked the page with a thin strip of ribbon and closed the book, too upset to read anymore.

"It means that if your friend has true blood, she will be abusing the hearts of many," she said strongly.

"What's a true blood? What can she do?" Benny asked.

His grandmother gestured to the chairs in front of her desk. The boys settled across from her and looked at her expectantly.

She gave them a soft look and released a large sigh.

"A true blood is a witch that has never had human ancestors anywhere in the bloodline. That means that even generations back, she cannot have a human relative, else she is not considered a true blood," she explained.

They nodded their heads slowly in understanding. 

"How would you even know if you're a true blood or not?" Ethan asked. Looking back thousands of years back sounded impossible.

"Oh, you know. True bloods take pride in their ancestry. They are considered higher status than other witches," she said with a grimace. That sounded like they were a clique of some sort.

"And the power stuff?" Benny asked.

"Powers are like a muscle. Every person is born with a certain amount of strength or powers. The more you work out your muscles, or use your magic, the stronger it will become." Her face grew darker. "But if you were to unnaturally use enhancers like steroids, then you become significantly stronger. If Camille were to consume the blood of ten vampires, she will gain more and more power."

"But why would she want that? She said herself that she doesn't want to rule over humans. I saw it in my dream. She was against Jesse," Ethan said.

"She said she was against ruling humans, but she never mentioned ruling other creatures, now did she?"

They both stopped to think. 

Was Camille more power hungry than Ethan had thought? She had all of the traits a leader had. She was charming, knew how to get her way, directed people well, and was very persuasive. 

At the same time, Camille seemed like a follower. She was a follower in Jasper's clan and even in Jesse's. What would make her want to have this kind of power? And why now? She had been waiting for a year but what for?

Ethan couldn't understand what her motives were for everything. The more he learned about Camille, the more he realized what a true mystery she was. It was like entering a game where the more levels you complete, the more they add on. 

"Still..." Ethan didn't know what else to say or ask. 

"Wait!" Benny paused and shot a look at Ethan. "Maybe she doesn't want power."

"Then why would she want the crystal?" Ethan cocked his head and crossed his arms, still not getting where Benny was playing at.

"Maybe she knows someone who does. You said yourself that she was part of a group back in France. And you said that there were invisible people working with her when she retrieved the necklace, right? Someone else could be using her," Benny said.

"That's certainly possible," his grandmother added.

Then who was the true blood? Was it Jasper or Camille? Who was using who?

"This Jasper fellow...he may be worth further research," Benny's grandmother proposed.

Ethan nodded. "I just don't know where to begin," he sighed.

"Your powers have been growing stronger since you've been using them more. Practice harnessing your visions and see if you can find anything," she suggested.

She rose from her desk and picked up a small vile of blue dust. Kindly, she reached forward and handed it to Ethan. "Try this. It might help."

Ethan thanked her and took the bottle. 

"We have a lot of work to do," Benny grumbled.

Yeah, and Benny wondered why Ethan had been freaking out lately. He had known there was something off this entire time!


	22. October Twenty-Second

Ethan really didn't want to do this. In fact, visiting this place was the last area he wanted to be on his Tuesday afternoon. But no matter how much he protested and wailed, Benny dragged his friend along. So, there they were, checking out Jesse's grave for clues as to what was happening in their town. 

The grave was creepy, there was no mistake of that. It fit in with the other hundreds of settlers' graves that scattered throughout the cemetery. Every time they returned there, Ethan felt like he was being watched. He hated that feeling. Sometimes, he met the dead and had to spend hours upon hours conversing with them because he was the only human that could see them. Ghosts loved to meet mediums. It was lonely not being able to talk to your loved ones. Ethan understood that. That didn't mean he didn't dread listening to their tragic stories, one by one. 

"Do you really think this is the best way to defeat vampire hulk?" Ethan asked begrudgingly, though he had a feeling that he knew what Benny was going to say already.

"E, this is the best chance we have at finding out more information regarding Camille. I know it's scary, but you got this," Benny rested a reassuring hand on his friend's shoulder and nodded encouragingly towards him.

In the far corner of the cemetery, Ethan approached the gravestone with trepidation.

Would he meet Jesse here? It wasn't exactly clear as to what happened to a vampire if one were to die. They were already part of the undead. Did he automatically go to the place that no man dared to go? Did they just evaporate into thin air? The answer was still unclear. Ethan wished to keep it that way.

Meters away, Benny watched his friend check out the grave. He knew that he had to do this alone. Benny didn't have seer abilities that Ethan did. Sure, he could simulate some with magic, but they wouldn't be nearly as good as Ethan's powers.

With a gulp, Ethan clutched onto Jesse's grave, in hope of answers.

Nothing. 

He frowned and held it again, trying to hype focus on Camille.

Ew. He got a much worse vision that what he imagined. Jesse and Sarah were making out.

Cringing, he let go and shook his hand away from the grave.

"What?" Benny said, noticing his friend's disgust.

"Let's just say that I saw something between him and Sarah that I wished I hadn't seen," he muttered in discontent.

"Try using that blue stuff my grandma gave you," Benny suggested.

Ethan glared at him. Like he hadn't already thought of that! Taking the bottle out of his pocket, he sprinkled a bit of the powder over his right hand and watched it dot his palm.

Sucking in a deep breath, he cautiously placed his hand back on the top of the grave and concentrated on Camille.

"It's too ambitious, even for you, Jasper!" Jesse snarled at him.

Jesse and Jasper were sitting in a darkened room, in a place that Ethan didn't recognize. 

Ethan hadn't seen Jasper before, but he assumed that the guy just called Jasper and sitting in a red chair would be the same one that Camille knew. He had blonde hair grown past his ears, pale skin, and full lips in similar shape to Jesse's. He was very handsome in his own respects, like a runway model.

"But it isn't! I already have a true blood on our side," Jasper insisted. Jesse scoffed.

"On your side? You barely have her loyalty as it is. She almost exposed your plans to her mother yesterday." Jesse stood up from his chair and paced around the room anxiously.

"Jesse, we are so close. Just imagine it: two powerful brothers ruling the supernatural world side by side. We'd be unstoppable," Jasper said with big eyes.

Jesse glared at him. "If you think we can successfully control the supernatural world with the reliance of a true blood then you're a bigger fool than I thought."

"We won't need her true mind, Jesse! Don't you get it? I've been mastering my technique of mind manipulation," Jasper declared.

Jesse scoffed and shook his head. Crossing his arms, he dared to look his young brother directly in his eyes. "You think mind tricks on a mere mortal are even close to the power needed to control a true blood? Face it, your plan is inconceivable. There is no way you can pull that off," he sighed and stepped closer to him. "We may not be able to rule the undead, but I guarantee that we can rule the living. We are no match for the army of the supernatural, but I know we can manage those weaker. Don't you want this for us? Why are you trying to sabotage what we have worked so hard for?" 

"I'm not!" Jasper stood up now, fire raging as he glared at his older brother who dared to challenge his vision. "You are sabotaging us with your weakness! You're too afraid of dreaming bigger. I know that we can achieve greatness, but you're allowing your fears to hold you back. You're a coward. You only pick off of the defenseless because you're too impuissant to seize opportunities as they come!" he roared back.

"You are what Darwin talked about: natural selection. You think you're greater than what you are, which will ultimately lead to your demise. Go ahead, try to become King of the supernatural. But I won't be there to pick you back up when you fall," Jesse warned.

"And when I succeed-"

"You won't succeed," Jesse cut off.

Jasper growled. "When I succeed, you will be on your knees kissing my feet."

"That day will never come," Jesse cackled.

The vision suddenly ended on a stand off between the two. 

Ethan gave Benny a concerned look.

"What?" Benny asked, almost too scared to question.

"It's Camille. She has friends...and they're closer to Jesse than you might think."


	23. October Twenty-Third

"Ethan!" 

Ethan had been walking towards the stop sign that morning. Usually, he'd be taking a ride in Benny's new old car, but Benny hadn't felt well that day and was therefore not attending school. So, Ethan was stuck doing his usual thing of walking to his bus stop. 

He hated walking to the bus stop. It was a good ten minute walk, and the coldness of Canada didn't help make the trip anymore appealing. During the winter, it was worse. He'd shake terribly as he trudged through the snow in his boots. At least October was still more tolerable than December.

Surprised to hear his name being called, Ethan turned around to see Camille a few trees behind. Should he run? This is the point where he should run, right? It was the first and only thought that came to his mind.

Instead of following his instincts, he gulped and stood frozen in place like a statue. He felt like she was Medusa, turning him to stone by just one look.

Satisfied that she had captured his attention, Camille skipped to him happily as if nothing had happened a few days ago. Proudly, the bright purple crystal shone against her chest. 

Badly, Ethan wanted to snatch it from her neck and run away as far as possible. But he knew that he couldn't do that. 

"What's wrong? You look as if you have seen a ghost," Camille said. She looked behind her comically and refocused her attention forward to him. "I see nothing."

"Just because you can't see something doesn't mean it isn't there," Ethan said. He was surprised to have found the courage to say anything to her. He was right, though. They both knew what he was referencing. 

"That is true. I cannot see your cells now, but I know that they are there," Camille said, as if she was dodging the thing that they both knew he was talking about.

He rolled his eyes. "Apparently, people can be here too even if you can't see them."

Camille chuckled. "With magic, sure. But that does not happen in reality."

Ethan glared at her. The audacity she had to say that. Magic was reality, and the reality was that someone was using it to turn people invisible. If not her, there was someone else.

"Magic is our reality, just like vampires and witches. Or brothers...like Jasper and Jesse," Ethan smirked.

He didn't know whether it was a good idea to let her know what he knew, but he figured that it couldn't hurt. Any information was vital. She could spill something.

Her face grew dark at the mention of the name that she clearly despised. Crossing her arms, she looked down at the sidewalk and bit the inside of her cheek.

"That's true," she murmured.

"What are you planning?" Ethan asked her directly.

He was done playing games. He was tired of having to play these stupid games and watch his friends get hurt in the process. If somewhere deep inside, Camille was there, he hoped that she could tell him what was going on. Was she being manipulated by Jasper? Were they somehow working together? What all were her motives exactly?

"Planning?" she asked, sounding confused as if that word had meant nothing to her. It almost sounded as if she didn't know what that word meant in English.

"You and Jasper. I know you have something up your sleeves. What is it?" 

"Ethan...Jasper..." she sighed.

Ethan frowned. What?

"Jasper is dead."

Huh? That couldn't be. He had to somehow fit in with this story. Maybe she was bluffing.

"I don't understand. How?"

Camille sighed and looked up at him. 

"An accident that I would rather not get into," she said softly.

"I know it's hard but...I need to know," Ethan said kindly to her. He walked forward and held her hand, knowing that it was probably difficult to talk about the passing of someone you cared for. How he died was important. It could mean that he really wasn't as dead as he said he was.

"Let's just say that it was a certain spell," Camille said quietly.

"What kind of spell?" he asked, not wanting to push his luck but also desperately wanting to know.

"One that can make people cease to exist. Now, do not ask anything of me any longer. I am done speaking of this," Camille said sharply.

Ethan nodded.

A spell that made people not exist anymore. Did that make you dead? Dead meant not alive. But if you aren't killed, then how are you dead? If you were to no longer exist, are you considered dead? So many questions rattled in his mind, not knowing where to even begin.

"Let us go," Camille said. She walked to the direction of the school bus.

That puzzled Ethan. He had never seen her ride his bus, but for some reason she was riding it now. Just as she brushed past him, she stopped and turned to face him.

"I'm not what you think I am. I'm better than that," she added before walking away.

Ethan let her walk further down. Every time he spoke with her, he was more confused than when they began their conversation.

Shaking his head, he headed towards the school bus. Camille flew away high in the sky, as if her only intention was to talk to Ethan and nothing more. But why would she want to say anything to Ethan? 

All of these questions ruminated in his mind, unable to comprehend what to do next other than tell Benny. Well, he'd text Benny because he knew that he was feeling under the weather. He wanted to give him time to relax before he added more stress. Perhaps, he could just talk to his grandmother about it. She was well versed with magic, far more than Ethan and Benny. She could have the right idea as to the meaning of their conversation. Nodding to himself, he made his way to school.


	24. October Twenty-Fourth

It had been bugging Ethan since they had made amends for the sake of their town. Though Ethan didn't want to go too much into it, he was aching to know the reasoning behind Benny's hurting. He didn't comprehend what had made his relationship with Camille such a giant issue between the two of them. For future reference, he was determined to ask Benny in hopes of resolving their problem. It was an unspoken elephant in the room. They both knew they needed to have that conversation, yet no one was coming forward.

Naturally, Ethan had decided to pop the question while they were gathering holy water at a local church. Because when collecting holy water, you felt that it was the perfect time to ask your best friend about something that could cause an argument. Better he do it in a place where Benny had to hold back. He knew not to blow up at church.

"So, what was up with you that day?" Ethan asked out of the blue as he watched Benny scoop up a bottle of holy water from the giant bowl.

Benny paused, mid-scoop, and looked up at him with a mix of confusion. He didn't understand what his friend was referencing.

"That day we got into a fight...why were you mad about me and Camille?" Ethan clarified.

Ethan hoped that Benny would give him an honest and direct answer. His hopes were that Benny felt the same way about him, but he knew that was completely untrue. There was no way that Benny reciprocated his feelings. A more likely reason was that he wasn't used to his friend leaving him for someone else, and therefore was jealous of the lack of attention that came with it. That would've been Ethan's reason if he wasn't romantically attached to Benny.

Benny sighed and picked the bottle up, letting some of the water drip down the sides, and screwed the cap on securely. He set the bottle on the ground and picked up an empty one, ready to start the process over again.

The seconds of Benny's silence were painful for Ethan. Too impatient, he wanted his answer now. For some reason, he rationalized that it would be better for him to know once and for all. Then, he could officially get over Benny. As soon as Benny didn't leave him with any room for hope, he would be able to move forward and pretend that this little crush phase never happened. But his heart wasn't so easy to convince. He had to know the truth, the full truth. Only then could he move on. He deserved to know.

"Can we talk about this another time?" he requested softly.

Ethan frowned and picked up his own bottle. He settled his bottle next to Benny's, watching them clash to together as they scooped water at the same time.

"Why? When will there be a good time? It's been four days, and we haven't even mentioned it," Ethan said, a little irritated at the request.

He knew that it wasn't Benny's fault that he was impatient. But after their falling out, he thought that their reconvening meant they could talk now. Sure, Ethan also was keeping things from Benny, but in his defense, he had a good reason to. Ethan's secret was for the sake of their friendship. Benny not expressing his feelings was causing a hindrance to theirs.

"We have plenty of time to talk about it, just not now," Benny surmised.

Ethan stopped and gave him an agitated look. With a huff, he shook his head and picked up his bottle. He screwed the cap on without breaking eye contact with Benny. "Why does it have to wait? It's not like it's that big of a deal."

It was Benny's turn to stop. He slammed his bottle on the side of the bowl and growled in frustration. He gave Ethan a look that he hadn't recognized from him before. It was hurt, maybe. Or it could be ire. It was a mix of both.

"What? So your feelings are important and mine don't mean anything?" he snapped at him.

Ethan was surprised by this backlash and vehemently shook his head. "No, that's not what I meant at all," he denied gently. 

The last thing Ethan wanted was another argument. He'd rather hear him out and try to figure out where Benny's jealousy was stemming from. If they worked through it together, they could overcome it together. So, he had to diffuse the situation before he made it worse.

"Then what did you mean?" he asked sharply.

"I just meant that I'm sure it can be dealt with," he tried to rationalize. 

Benny calmed down, noticing that he was acting a bit irrational compared to Ethan's demeanor. The tension in his shoulders eased and soon his breathing was becoming steadier. Benny could tell that he was done fighting too.

"Soon," he said lightly.

"Soon?" Ethan repeated.

"Yes, soon."

Ethan wanted to push. He wanted to ask Benny what was really going on. Why all the avoidance?

But he also didn't want to push his friend. He knew that Benny would tell him when he was comfortable doing so. Everyone had his or own time that it took to feel better about a certain situation. It had taken Ethan almost a year, for example, to try and get over his best friend. If someone had tried to push him into doing it sooner, he didn't know if he could.

Instead of pestering him further, he nodded his head in acceptance and finished scooping up his last bottle of holy water. Benny smiled softly, seeming relieved that Ethan didn't press on.

'Good,' Ethan thought to himself. This was a step in the right direction. They were learning each other's boundaries and listening to each other. That couldn't be said for every friendship. Even relationship wise, people struggled with that. 

Benny finished scooping his last bottle and patted the top of his head. They both left, both questioning what to do next.


	25. October Twenty-Fifth

Back in Ethan's room, the gang of Sarah, Rory, and Benny gathered with serious expressions on their faces. Now, they had to be on their A game if they intended on defeating whatever it was that they were against. In truth, they had no idea exactly what or who they were fighting against, but they knew that it would be big.

Thankfully, Ethan had another vision last night that was going to help them. He had waited until after school to say it, just in case Camille overheard him. Who knew where she was lurking?

Sarah was sitting at Ethan's desk. Rory and Benny were situated on his bed, arguing over whether Captain America or the Hulk was better suited in a fight, spoiler alert: it was totally Captain America, and Ethan was just coming back into his room after giving Jane money to shut up about their private meeting. That girl was one heavy bargainer. He had to do her laundry for a month, her math homework for a week, and had to give her twenty bucks. It was almost criminal how money hungry she was. She had the makings of a great capitalist.

"The Hulk is a big angry guy with tiny purple pants. No one thinks properly when their angry. Captain America is an ultra bionic soldier designed for combat with high intelligence and strategy! There's no comparison!" Benny argued. 

Rory scoffed and looked offended by the insult. "The Hulk is a monster of mass destruction. Captain America is just some buff guy with boosted powers!"

"You're both idiots and so is this conversation," Sarah butted in, tired of listening to an argument that she couldn't care less about.

"We need to get back on task if we're going to fight Jasper, Camille, and whoever else they decide to bring along," Ethan said, agreeing with Sarah. They were always the ones to make the most sense of the situation. They really did compliment each other well. Did Ethan mention how much Benny frustrated him?

"Oh, yeah, about that. Sarah told me about the invisible people. My grandmother helped me do some research and said that based on the fact that Camille was in possession of the crystal, she was manipulating the souls of those victim to it." Benny pulled out an old book from his backpack and opened to a page with a green bookmark stuck inside. All three looked closely at the words.

"If you see here," Benny said as he pointed to a paragraph below a drawing. "The possessor can use the souls' that lost power from the crystal and bend it to their will. My grandmother said it was far more likely that she was doing that instead of making people invisible."

Ethan gulped. That meant they had virtually no chance of seeing them, didn't it? 

"Great, so we stand no chance," Sarah said with a voice of defeat.

Benny smirked. "Not so fast," he said proudly. He pulled out a book that Ethan recognized. It was the book he and Benny had been looking at a couple of weeks ago regarding ghost hunting. "E, remember how I found a spell on how to manipulate ghosts?" 

Ethan nodded. 

"It turns out there are reversal spells for that too," Benny said with a grin.

Wow, so Benny would get to go ghost hunting after all. Ethan had to admit that while not all of his ideas were brilliant, sometimes he came up with the ones that would save them all.

"Dude! We are gonna be ghostbusters!" Rory cheered.

They all rolled their eyes and ignored him.

"Wait, but is that spell strong enough to overpower the blood crystal?" Sarah asked.

That raised a good question. If Camille was a true blood and had a crystal, did Benny even stand a chance against her?

"Glad you asked," Benny said. He pulled something else out of his backpack. What was this? Carry everything in your backpack that could save the world day?

It was a weird object, one that no one else recognized. It was gold and resembled the shape of a magnifying glass. In the circular part, the shape of a diamond was carved inside with a bunch of unfamiliar shapes surrounding it, much like looking at hieroglyphics.

"What is that?" Sarah asked when they all just stared at the object for a solid minute.

"The Plexonator," Benny said in a deep voice.

Sarah cocked an eyebrow. "That's the dorkiest name I've ever heard," she scoffed.

Benny pouted and set it on the bed. "Okay, that's not its real name, but I don't remember what she said its real name was," he admitted.

That made much more sense.

"What does it do?" Ethan wanted to know the important questions.

"Right. My grandma hesitated to give this to me at first, but she said that I was readying myself into the makings of a spell master! Anyway, this device holds the key to the world beyond us. All I have to do is chant this spell, and it will call other spirits for help," he explained.

"That's great, but that doesn't mean we can keep Camille from manipulating other spirits," Sarah pointed out.

"Oh, quite the contrary my dear friend. The Plexonator can be utilized for practically anything regarding the dead, including manipulating and reverse manipulation," he beamed.

Rory gasped and grabbed for it. "Cool! Can I try?" 

"No!" The others protested. Benny snatched it out of Rory's reach and shoved it back in his backpack for safe keeping. 

"Well, I have some news too," Ethan said after he figured that Benny was done with his show and tell. They all looked at him expectantly.

"With the help of the blue powder, I've been able to channel my visions more. I had another vision. On Halloween night, Camille plans on destroying all of the vampires and use their power for control of the supernatural realm."

"And you just decided to tell us this why?" Sarah asked.

"I didn't want to tell you at school in case she was there. Anyways, I'm sure she has more on her side, but at least we know her intentions," Ethan said.

"No wonder she only invited vampires to her party," Benny said, connecting the dots.

"Does this mean that the second party I've ever been invited to is also to be someone's next meal?" Rory asked.

"Yes, bud. I'm afraid so," Benny said, patting his shoulder for comfort.

"If what you're saying is true, then we really have to up our game. She probably has things that weaken vampires," Sarah said.

"But why target only vampires?" Benny asked.

"I'm guessing she's mad at Jesse for turning her into one, so she wants some sort of revenge," Ethan shrugged.

"We better plan more, a lot more," Benny said.

"Yeah, no kidding." Ethan agreed.


	26. October Twenty-Sixth

Ethan was at the foot of his bed, laying down and playing on his Nintendo DS. Benny was on the edge of the bed, resting flat on his stomach as he clicked away at the buttons on his Nintendo DS too. After knowing that they had a lot of work and monster chasing ahead of them, the boys decided that they needed a sleepover to forget about their problems just for one night. Sarah protested and thought that it was better if they planned things, but both argued that one day won't screw anything up. Sure, they had less than one week to stop them, but they had known most of what was likely to happen anyways. The hard part was all the planning...and following through it of course.

As much as he tried to deny it, Ethan was worried. He didn't know how bad something could get. Considering that they had defeated Jesse twice, he figured that it couldn't be that much worse. Jasper was Jesse's brother, so he assumed that his level of predictability was likely the same. Sure, they had Camille, but if they could somehow calm Camille down then things were hopefully going to smooth over. Benny just had to practice his spell pronunciation a bit more, which his grandmother had been tutoring him on. Ethan had been training in his backyard with scarecrows again on tactics to fight people. 

There was still one major thing that confused Ethan. Before, Ethan was able to see ghosts. Why was it that he couldn't see the ghosts that were with Camille? Was it because they were supernatural? Or was she masking them? He wasn't entirely certain. He'd asked Benny's grandmother, but she said that some ghosts won't be seen if they don't want to be seen. He figured they would've wanted to be seen if they were fighting people against their will. Right?

Sighing, he made his way to gym leader Korrina in hopes of battle. These were the kinds of battles he was fine with facing, just some good old fashioned Pokémon battles. There weren't even fatalities in this game. Once a Pokémon was exhausted, all you did was nurse them back to health in a ball. That wasn't so bad at all. As he saw Mienfoo, Hawlucha, and Machoke enter the screen, he checked his list to see who he could bring forth to fight against.

"Yes!" Benny cheered. 

Ethan looked up curiously to see that he had finally won a battle that he had been working on for the past hour. That dude was really rusty when it came to Pokémon games. He chuckled and shook his head, amused by his friend's victory.

"E, look! I finally defeated Clemont!" He leaned over the edge of the bed to show Ethan his screen.

His head peaked up, surprised that he was already somehow two gym leaders ahead of him. And he thought he was the slow one. Just as Benny leaned out more, he lost his balance and clumsily fell on top of Ethan.

Wide eyed, Ethan yelped from the impact and laid there in shock as he felt Benny crushing on top of him. They were there, face to face, on the floor of Ethan's bedroom. Against his will, Ethan felt his heart punching against his chest, so much so that its drumming filled the room. A red flush washed over the pale boy's face, tinging the tips of his ears and searing throughout his body. 

Benny didn't move. Only inches away from his face, Benny stared directly into Ethan's eyes with a blank expression on his face.

Why wasn't Benny moving? Why wasn't he moving? As much as Ethan wanted to freak out and shove Benny off as quickly as possible, he couldn't. He was frozen, but he didn't know why. Fear, maybe. Or, perhaps he was waiting to see what he would do next. Shock. It could've been shock. 

He felt guilty. Benny didn't know how he was making Ethan feel. He wasn't aware that Ethan very much wanted to close the gap between their faces and have their lips meet, just once, to satisfy his hunger. No. His friend was oblivious to his feelings, and it wasn't fair of him to not know what this kind of closeness meant to him. If anything, Ethan felt like a creep.

Just as Ethan was about to say something, Benny did the unthinkable. Achingly slow, he leaned down and gently placed his lips to Ethan's. Ethan's eyebrows raised as he felt the warm pair of lips meeting his. Not knowing what to do, he laid there in shock, not even kissing back. He wanted to kiss him back. Badly, he craved movement. But his body was defying him, and instead of pulling his face close by grabbing the back of his head with both of his hands, his hands laid there by his side while he was being kissed by his best friend.

Deep in the bellows of his stomach, Ethan felt a stirring that he hadn't before. Fireworks were exploding, firing every which way and demanding that he let them be released. His entire being was tingly at the sensation. Benny's lips moved harsher against Ethan's, as if waiting for him to respond. "Don't you want this too?" They seemed to be asking him.

"Of course, I want this too. But what exactly is this?" Ethan was asking him back. Was Benny testing him? Had Sarah told him that Ethan had a crush on him? It didn't seem like something she would do.

After a minute, Benny pulled away quietly and looked down at Ethan with a look of regret and remorse screaming in his eyes. They yelled, "OH MY GOSH! WHAT DID I JUST DO?!" 

Jolting back, Benny immediately removed himself from Ethan and scrambled away on the floor, trying to further the distance between them. "I-I-I-I'm so s-s-sorry!" he yelped. Shuffling to his feet, Benny snatched his DS from the ground and tried walking past Ethan.

"Benny, wait," Ethan protested, grabbing the bottom of Benny's ankle in hopes of keeping him.

Benny paused and didn't say a word. Realizing what he was doing, he let go of Benny and watched him walk away.


	27. October Twenty-Seventh

Naturally, Ethan was left in wonderment that night of what had just happened. A plethora of thoughts entered and exited his mind like busy bees working in and out of their hives. His ruminations had even disrupted his sleeping in that he couldn't. All night, he laid in bed and stared at his ceiling, contemplating Benny's motivations behind kissing him.

He tried to think about different reasons. The one he hoped for was that Benny reciprocated his feelings. To try and figure out the validity behind that motivation, he thought back to their times together and considered if there were signs that he hadn't noticed before. Had Benny been more obvious than Ethan had failed to realize? There were subtle moments like blushing at accidental skin touching, but that was as far as Ethan could recount. Benny had never complimented him and always focused on girls. So, the likelihood that he kissed him because he liked him was thin.

Then, Ethan pondered if Benny had somehow figured out that Ethan had a crush on him and wanted to test his theory once and for all. That one sounded the most like Benny, given the fact that his friend could be impulsively insensitive without realizing it. Ethan was certain that he would be just as curious if the roles were reversed. If he thought Benny had a crush on him, he'd probably try to get a vision from him. He was glad that Benny had at least refrained from magic this time.

But Ethan had a greater fear. What if Benny didn't know for sure whether he liked Ethan or not, and directly after kissing him, he realized that he certainly didn't feel that way for him and regretted his decision. Again, Ethan would be heartbroken but also understand. Considering Benny was his first and only kiss, he knew that he wasn't exactly skilled or anything, especially when knowing that he hadn't even kissed Benny back. No. He sat there underneath him like a dead fish.

Which led Ethan onto his last but more reversible theory. Benny could have liked Ethan but been under the impression that Ethan not kissing back was his way of rejecting him. That was not the case at all. Ethan wanted to kiss back, but something had held him back. Perhaps, he mind didn't want him to kiss Benny until they both were on the same page about what that kiss meant for both of them.

He just wished that Benny would communicate with him. Communication was the key to any relationship, romantically involved or not. They couldn't be on the same page and neither knew which page they were even on. Ethan felt like he wasn't even reading the same book as his companion. All he wanted were answers.

With a sigh, Ethan thought back to everything he had surmised that night as he set up another dummy with Rory in his backyard. Since Benny had bailed on him at their sleepover, he invited Rory over to help set up practice for fighting off whatever it was they were exactly fighting.

"And then I was all like, 'Dude, there's no way you can be the Jedi Master if you don't even know who Yoda is.' And he was all like, 'Yoda is an insignificant character.' Someone in the comment section said he was trolling, but I think he's a major dingus." Rory had been ranting all afternoon about the comment section for his latest YouTube video about Star Wars. Since he couldn't record himself on camera, he resorted to using images and a voiceover for people to view. Overall, he had positive feedback. He hadn't built up his channel to the level of Pranskie, but he was doing okay for himself. He had garnered over four hundred subscribers, which was impressive considering it was Rory.

"Uhuh." Ethan nodded his head, though he wasn't really listening. As he put up another scarecrow in his backyard, he ignored Rory and focused on Benny.

Rory noticed his lack of response and pouted. "Did you even hear me?"

"Yep," Ethan said, not even knowing what he had said yes to.

"Then what did I just say?" Rory stopped in the middle of his backyard, hoisting up a scarecrow with a menacing look.

Crud. Ethan had literally no idea.

"Something about Star Wars," Ethan guessed.

It was a fifty-fifty shot that he was correct.

"What about Star Wars?" Rory pressed on.

Ethan growled and huffed.

"Rory, I don't know, okay? Can we just focus on the task?" Ethan requested.

Rory looked taken aback by his snap and lowered his expression.

"Jeez, who put Captain Grouchiness in your cereal today," Rory muttered.

Ethan felt guilty that he had hurt Rory's feelings, but he honestly did feel that having peace and quiet would help him clear his head. As he shuffled across his backyard, he picked up the last scarecrow and slammed it next to the other nine ones. This would hopefully help with his aim and distraction. How much could he pay attention to at once? That was what he needed to find out.

But he couldn't do any training if he didn't have a sound mind. He and Benny had to work this out, if not for themselves then for humanity. Humanity was at risk. Tomorrow. If Benny didn't, then he would confront him tomorrow. They needed to work this out as soon as possible.

"Is Benny coming over soon? I wanted to see the new Pokémon in X and Y," Rory said.

"Not today, but we can see about tomorrow," Ethan responded.

They had school the next day, so it wasn't as if Rory couldn't bombard him with questions then.

"Didn't you guys have a sleepover?" Rory pestered on. He was like the annoying fly trying to get your food that wouldn't take the hint to go away.

"He had to go home, emergency."

Ethan hoped Rory didn't press on. Thankfully, it appeared that he was less interested and grabbed a toy gun.

"Catch me if you can, vampire ghosts!"


	28. October Twenty-Eighth

No matter what Ethan felt, he told himself that he had to brave up and be as forward as possible with Benny. There was no more beating around the bush. He decided that even though he hadn't wanted to tell him about his feelings, he couldn't avoid them any longer. Given the fact that Benny kissed him out of the blue, it was fair that he told him where he stood. Tired. He was tired of playing the guessing game of Benny's feelings. The only true way he'd know how he felt was to ask directly.

So, when Ethan stormed into school, he had every intention of squaring things away with Benny before school started. Even if the spell master had to be chased around the entire campus and trapped in a dead ended hallway. Whatever it took, Ethan was determined to resolve this ridiculous cat and mouse game once and for all! 

He didn't know if Benny was ready to talk. But if Benny wasn't ready to talk, then he shouldn't have kissed him. That was his mistake. Whether he liked it or not, his actions made him agree to something that he may not be comfortable with yet. Regardless, it didn't matter to Ethan. Ethan was ready, and had been ready, for quite some time now. If Benny was going to just go around thinking he could nonchalantly kiss people, he had another thought coming.

Ethan wandered through the halls of Whitechapel High, aimlessly looking for his best friend, who was certainly avoiding him. He went to the one place that Benny often went to: the abandoned classroom where they held DnD meetings. Timidly, Ethan shied the door open and saw Benny quietly sitting at a desk near the window, peaking out at the squirrels fighting at the bottom of a tree.

The room was dark, with no lighting but the natural one shining from the glass. A few cobwebs were dusted around. Ethan shut the door behind him, grabbing Benny's attention, and made his way to his friend. Benny glanced over and almost got up to leave but knew that it wouldn't do any good to run away.

Ethan sighed as he sat down next to him. Here they were, about to have the talk. All last evening and this morning, he had been figuring what he would say to him. But facing Benny now, any preparations he had made were completely tossed out the window.

Benny looked down at his feet, as if he were guilty of something, and swallowed loudly. His hands made little fists as they rested on the top of the desk he rested at.

"I'm sorry," Benny managed to squeeze out after a few minutes of uncomfortable silence.

Ethan raised an eyebrow. "What're you sorry for?"

Benny gave him a look that said, "You're seriously asking me that?" 

Sorry meant regret. Ethan wanted to know why Benny regretted kissing him.

"Don't make me say it," Benny begged.

"Well, I need to know...I need to know why you regret it," Ethan said lightly.

He didn't want to turn this into an argument. His hopes were to make this a safe and comfortable space to let out their feelings. After all they had been through together, they owed each other that much.

"I...I don't know," Benny said weakly.

Ethan crossed his arms and shuffled his feet under the desk. "I don't believe you."

Benny flinched and huffed. 

"Fine! Because I like you! Is that what you want me to say?" Benny shot out, squirming in his seat as he made his declaration. He looked in Ethan's direction but focused on the wall behind him.

"I want you to tell me the truth," Ethan said calmly. If Ethan rose his voice, the situation would escalate. That was the last thing on his mind.

Benny silenced, not expecting Ethan to say that, and relaxed into his seat. Still, he was visibly tense. 

"That is the truth," he whispered.

Ethan's heart stopped. No, literally, it stopped. What did he mean he liked him? Like, a boyfriend liked him? Like friends who kiss each other? 

"And I'm sorry," Benny continued. "I'm supposed to be your best friend, and here I am developing feelings for you. It's not fair to put this kind of pressure on you. I should've never kissed you, but I've been holding back for so long and I just...I snapped."

Ethan nodded along. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He secretly pinched himself as hard as he could. There was no doubt that he wasn't dreaming, but this didn't make sense to him.

"If you like me, then why are you hitting on Camille?" Ethan wanted to understand everything.

"Because...I knew you didn't feel the same way. I have to try and move on."

Fair enough.

Now, it was Ethan's turn.

"I like you too."

Shocked, Benny locked eyes with him, mouth slightly agape, and sat there stunned. He clearly wasn't expecting their conversation to go in that direction.

"Really?" he asked with a dry throat.

Ethan nodded again.

"Yeah...actually, I've known I've had feelings for you since the Ferris Wheel," Ethan admitted with a light chuckle. He had held it in all those times.

"I mean...me too...that kiss...I know it was just a peck, but I felt something. I don't know what came over me, but it made me realize who you had been to me for a while now."

Ethan shyly smiled. He was glad to know he wasn't the only one that felt sparks from that kiss. "So...what now?"

A shrug came from the boy adjacent to him. 

"Trial?" Benny suggested.

"Like, we test the waters before making anything official?" Ethan clarified.

"Yeah. We can flirt and stuff without putting a label on it. I don't want to add pressure to this. If it's too weird, we'll just stop," Benny rationalized.

"Okay, but have to promise each other that we won't let this break us apart," Ethan said seriously.

Benny held out his pinky. Ethan locked their pinkies together.

"I promise," Benny said.

"I promise too."

"And we're not telling Rory for at least a year," Benny said.

"Or never," Ethan said.

"Never works too."


	29. October Twenty-Ninth

Erica hadn't been up to much all month. The last part of the Dusker films had been released the month beforehand, mainly because of Jesse's brilliant plan that ended up in a disaster those few years ago, so she had nothing to look forward to besides Halloween.

She did like Halloween. It was the night where she could bare her fangs, and no one would bat an eye. Often, she pretended to be in a costume as a sexy vampire and lure guys all night, drinking 'til her heart was content. Usually, that meant that she drank about ten people's blood before the satisfaction grew too strong and made her pass out. Trick or treat was right. She tricked many people in exchange for a treat.

This year, she wanted to go all out. Most of the time, she wore whatever clothes she had in her bedroom for Halloween. But she wanted to make things special this time around. So, she did what any other person would do, go to the cemetery to dig up the graves of women from the 1800s in hopes of stealing their clothing.

Because naturally, anyone would do that. Right?

It didn't matter to Erica. For her, it was a cheap way to get something fancy and unique. Last year, some girl had the audacity to dress up in the same outfit as her, and she refused to let that happen again! Plus, even if she got caught grave digging, it didn't matter. She was a vampire. With those powers, she could get away with most anything.

Excited to find some cool red dresses, she jumped for joy to the cemetery. As she made her way over, she heard some strange voices coming from afar. Curious, she quietly hid behind a tree inside and peered around. That was when she spotted it, or rather, them.

"Bientôt mon amour." (Soon my love)

Erica winced and tried to get a closer look. 

Camille!

The girl with flowing hair was in the center of the graveyard, talking to one of the gravestones. She was wearing a long black dress with webbed sleeves. It looked like she had been crying, given her tear stained cheeks and reddened eyes.

Erica knew there was something weird about that girl, but she didn't care about it. She had better things to do than worry about some little French girl that came to her school.

"I just need you to be patient for a few more days. Soon, we will be powerful enough," she said kindly.

Powerful enough for what?

Erica crossed her arms and watched as Camille leaned over with a shiny purple object in her hand. She pressed it against the grave and watched a white figure rise from it. A tall boy with blonde hair stood in front of her. If he had been alive, Erica would've been all over that.

"Nous sommes à court de temps," the boy snapped. (We are running out of time). He didn't look to pleased to see her.

Camille bowed her head.

"I know. I'm sorry, but Samhain is our best chance. I would not wait if I did not have to," Camille reassured him.

Erica didn't know what this guy was saying, but she understood Camille perfectly. Her time in Canada must've made her speak English by instinct. 

Still, what exactly were they waiting for?

"Tu as le cristal. Cela doit fonctionner," he said angrily. (You have the crystal. This must work!)

"Je sais. It will work. Trust me! I have many of our friends fighting with us. No more of Jesse's flock will exist to stop us. I promse you that," Camille assured him.

Erica gulped. That couldn't be good. She had been part of his flock at one point! Did that mean they were targeting her?

"Et le seer. De quel côté est-il?" he cocked his head to the side. (And the seer. What side is he on?)

"He sides with some of Jesse's crowd but does not side with Jesse. I'd say he is easy to convert," she reasoned.

This made him look satisfied. He smiled and cupped her face gently in his hand. "Bien. Alors tu ne devrie pas avoir de problème pour le mettre de notre côté." (So you shouldn't have a problem getting him on our side.)

Camille shook her head lightly. 

"But his friends," Camille started.

"Et ses amis? Tu sais ce qu'il faut faire," he said with a darkening expression. (And his friends? You know what to do.)

"Oui. But it is harder than it looks. They are strong and still together. I am just one person," Camille argued.

He rolled his eyes. "Tu es un vrai sang. Ils n'ont rien." (You are a true blood. They have nothing.)

Erica couldn't take it any longer. She had to tell someone, anyone!

She flew away as far from the cemetery as possible and texted in the air because she wasn't driving so why did it matter? 

Erica: Big trouble! Camille has a ghost friend...doesn't look like he likes us!

Sarah: how do u know this???

Erica sighed. Of course, Sarah wanted to know all of the details.

Erica: cemetery, I saw it

Erica flew home and settled up in her room. She couldn't believe what she had just witnessed. Ghosts were real! She never thought that ghosts were real, even though she was a vampire. None had ever crossed her path before.

But she was more concerned about whatever conversation Camille was having with that ghost guy. She wished she had paid more attention in French class, but she had been too busy drooling over that cute guy next to her. It turned out that he was gay though, which was such a waste of a failed class! He could have at least told her before allowing her to stare at him every day. Some people were just rude.

Shaking her head, she tried thinking of how she was going to fight Jesse. She hated getting involved, but she had no choice now!


	30. October Thirtieth

Ethan was informed about what Erica saw that same night that it occurred. Boggled that Camille was being truthful, he contemplated his next course of action in battling out against Jasper, Camille, and whoever else decided to show. Considering they would be handling a more powerful ghost than the regular ones, they really had to make sure that Benny got his spell correctly. The most troubling part was that none of them still knew exactly what was to occur when encountering their battle between the supernatural. 

Something new for both of them was Ethan spending the night at Benny's house, especially on a Wednesday. They had decided that Benny would stay home to practice his pronunciation of the spell with the help of his grandmother, and Ethan would be there to ask her questions that came to his head as well as practice his seer abilities. Mainly, he was hoping that his visions would give him some insight to tomorrow. 

Halloween was supposed to be a fun day. Most people their age were thinking of which party they were going to go to, whose house were they pranking, and how much Halloween candy they could steal from little kids. Ethan and Benny didn't get that luxury anymore. The night before Halloween, they were preparing for a battle that could mean life or death, between the living and the dead. Though their life was anything but dull, it was still dreary nonetheless.

"You didn't pronounce iddi properly," his grandmother, Evelyn, scolded with a shake of her head in disapproval.

Benny groaned. All night, he had been repeating the same words over and over again. ""Rhoi'r gorau iddi, ildio, ildio ysbrydion." It was Welsh for Give up, surrender, surrender spirits. Without the Plexonator, which according to Evelyn was called Galwr Enaid that they respectively decided wouldn't catch on, the spell was of no use. Still, it was important to get the pronunciation just right or the results could be catastrophic. Even his intonation and feeling had to be perfect.

"Iddi, iddi, iddi," Benny repeated multiple times in an unamused tone. 

They all had been in Evelyn's study, handling with magic more so than Ethan had ever been around. Usually, they messed with a brew and called it a day, but Ethan had been reading his butt off and trying to hone in on his powers while Benny was having a crash course in linguistics. Unfortunately for him, it wasn't going well.

"Iddi," Evelyn repeated with a thick Welsh accent. 

Benny groaned and rolled his eyes, holding up the piece of paper that had the spell written on it. After staring at the paper a moment longer, he looked back at her with pleading eyes.

"Can't you just use a spell to make me sound good?"

"That would be too artificial. We don't know the affects of spell interference like that. The safest way is to pronounce the spell organically," she explained.

'We're doomed,' Ethan thought to himself.

"I heard that," Benny said to Ethan.

Ethan frowned. Huh? 

"What? No you didn't," he said, skeptical of what Benny meant.

"You may not have said it out loud, but the look on your face told me all I needed to know. Ouch, man," Benny said jokingly.

Ethan loosened up a bit, glad that Benny wasn't actually able to hear his thoughts. If he had, there would have been many thoughts such as, "Benny looks cute in that sweater. He should wear it more often," and "If we both like each other, when are we going to get to kiss each other again?"

Silly thoughts like that rang in his mind all day, because the boy was lovesick and desperate to get some smooching action from his unofficial boyfriend. They might have been taking it slowly, but they were doing that exclusively. They were exclusive experimental boyfriends. It wasn't the best label, but it was a step in the right direction.

A worse thought lingered in the back of Ethan's mind as he heard Benny fumble over the spell, yet again.

What if Benny did terribly and prevented them from succeeding? Did that mean that Benny would be in harm's way? A sinking feeling lowered Ethan's heart, not knowing if he could handle the knowledge that Benny was in potential danger. No, he was in danger. This time, it was fatal. He didn't know if he could live with himself if someone so precious to him left him. But he could never say that out loud.

Evelyn gave Ethan a sympathetic look, as if she knew was he was thinking, and headed to him. He was sitting on the chair in the corner of the room.

"I know it's hard. But I believe in you boys," Evelyn said proudly.

Why did Benny's grandmother never participate in these battles? Did she not see it as her duty to intervene too? Maybe she was too tired to care.

Ethan looked down and sighed.

"Easier said that done," he murmured.

She looked back at Benny and made sure that he was focusing on his pronunciation before returning her sight back to Ethan.

"You didn't hear this from me, but he's worried too."

Benny was worried? About what exactly? Benny was one of the most confident guys he knew.

Carefully, Evelyn revealed a small rag in her pocket. She opened it to show a shiny, white rounded stone glimmering inside. 

"Take this. It will help you feel at ease," she offered him.

With trepidation, Ethan picked up the stone and inspected it closely. "What does it do?" 

"You'll know when the time comes...trust me," she said with a wink.

Leaving him dumbfounded, she left Ethan and returned to her grandson that had almost perfectly repeated the spell. Just kidding, he mostly failed, but he was improving.

Ethan stared at the stone once more and gave it a soft smile. He didn't know how that stone could be of any use, but he was certain that he had someone great on his side.


	31. October Thirty-First

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It has been one crazy month! Wow, what a rollercoaster. I'm so thankful for everyone who has read my story up to this point. Though a little hasty, I enjoyed writing for you. Happy Halloween!

It the final day, and all the gang could do was worry about what that day, or night rather, entailed for them. Ethan couldn't stop jittering in class, Benny was repeating his spell over and over again, and Sarah was nervously eating chips. Rory and Erica were calmer than the other three, but that was to be expected from people so reckless. If Rory wasn't such a dingbat, they'd made the perfect pair.

When the night arose, Ethan and Benny were preparing by wearing their handmade costumes from earlier in the month. Albeit, they were far from perfect, they suited the two just fine. Ethan slicked his hair back and put on his Malfoy robe. Benny made fake bangs by putting his hair in the front and rocked his long, black Harry Potter garb. Of course, Benny's looked better considering he used magic with each mishap. Ethan wasn't granted that luxury.

Ding dong!

Both darted to the entrance of the house to see that Sarah was standing before them, not entertaining the idea of a costume. No, she looked like she had when she was at school. All she wore was a simple brown sweater and tight blue jeans. She stood before them as if nothing was wrong and gave them an incredulous look.

"This is the scariest thing I've seen all day," she teased while waving her hand at them for emphasis. 

Benny looked disappointed. "What? You're too cool for costumes?" he guessed.

"No, but I don't think it'd be very easy to fight in a costume," Sarah explained.

Ethan shook his head along with Benny. This was the one tie of the year where they could be complete dorks and not be judged for it. Plus, everyone loved Harry Potter. It were only the crazy fangirls that people criticized. 

"Where are Erica and Rory?" Ethan asked, looking behind her to see that the vampire friends were absent.

"They'll be here soon. They said they had some business to attend to first," Sarah said with a roll of her eyes.

Ethan's guess was feasting upon the trick or treaters for that night. 

"Okay, ready to go to the party then?" Benny asked, almost too excited for his own good.

"Ready as I'll ever be," Sarah said, sighing as she started to make her way off of Ethan's front porch.

They gang somberly walked down the neighborhood. While they were usually filled with laughter and weird looks, there was something different about the air they breathed. The whispers of the wind passing by chilled them, only making them feel gloomier under the waning crescent that barely lit the sky. Everyone sensed the great danger presented with each reluctant step they took.

Finally, they reached upon the address that Camille gave Ethan. A giant mansion completed in brick stood before them with an unwelcoming gate circling a barrier around it. The entire garden was filled with barren trees, only adding to the deathly atmosphere. The only signs of life came from the windows, with flashing lights and the booming of music bellowing on the grounds of the house.

They gave each other worrisome looks before proceeding towards the entrance. 

Thankfully, the gate opened as they approached, allowing them to enter what they feared to go to.

"I don't like this," Ethan muttered under his breath.

His hand sunk into his pocket, firmly holding the white stone that Benny's grandmother had given him. Still unsure of what it did, he felt better just holding it. 

"Why so gloomy?" Rory slammed from behind them, dropping down from the sky, and giggled with his skeleton costume on. Benny and Ethan jumped, glaring at the suspect that made their hearts pop out of their chests.

"Don't mind him. He's still on a high from the last bite," Erica said as she gracefully lowered herself to the ground, wearing a sexy cat girl costume. That was to be expected.

Ethan knocked on the door. He remembered that vampires couldn't enter unless they were invited inside.

Slowly, the door crept open.

Camille came into vision with the most amazing look. She had a giant, black dress from the rococo era in French, decked with ribbon and trim. Her hair cascaded down her shoulders and somehow appeared longer than earlier that day. Centered perfectly on her chest was her necklace that held the purple crystal. It winked at the crowd, happy to see their arrival.

"Welcome, come on in," she greeted with a wave of her hand.

The group walked inside and saw that there were many vampires cheering and dancing around them. Camille grabbed hold of Ethan's wrist.

"Ethan, can I speak with you? It will only be for a moment," she said softly.

He looked back at everyone. 

"Go on ahead. We're going to have a look around," Sarah said.

Ethan nodded and followed Camille to a private room with a cauldron in the middle.

"Ethan, I have something to confess to you," she said with a little voice.

Ethan cringed and gave her an expectant look.

"I have begun to grow feelings for you...romantic ones," Camille said, not daring to look Ethan in the eyes.

That was the last thing Ethan expected to hear from her.

"Huh?" he couldn't believe what he had just heard.

"I know it sounds unreal, but I am honest to my word. There is something in you that has captivated me," she continued on.

"Camille," Ethan interjected. "I have to stop you here," he sighed and ran a pair of fingers through his hair.

"I'm flattered by the interest...really. But I have someone that I already like," he admitted lightly to her.

He never in a million years thought that he would have to reject someone, especially that beautiful! But as stunning as she was, she failed to tug at any of Ethan's heart strings. She wasn't the one. 

Camille looked shocked, as if she also was not expecting him to respond that way. What made her think that he would like her?

"Who could you like more than me?" she asked, sounding too hurt.

"Someone that you'll never be," Ethan declared strongly. He wasn't about to say Benny for two reasons: one, he didn't feel comfortable telling just anyone about his sexuality, and two, she didn't seem like the kind of person that responded well to rejection.

"But I have something that she does not," Camille said. Naturally, she assumed it was a girl.

"And what's that?" 

Blood curling, gut-wrenching, agonizing screams thundered in their ears, sounding like the direction of the party.

Worried, Ethan looked back as he held in his breath.

"Them," she cackled.

Slowly, Camille revealed herself in her true form, with her skin turning a bright shade of green and her hair growing blacker than a raven's claw. Her hair swirled and touched the ground, sweeping it with each movement she made.

"What the-?"

"Hideous, right? This is a true blood. Your friend should be thankful that he doesn't have to disguise himself for others," Camille growled.

Ethan gulped. "You look...interesting."

"Save it! We're running out of time," Camille barked.

Just as Ethan tried to make his way out of the room, Camille used her powers to lock the door behind him. Crud! Well, that was a bust.

"I don't understand. What do you want with me?" Ethan asked, still confused about that one part of their long-awaited mystery.

Camille slowly approached him. "You still don't know?" she asked, craning her neck.

He shook his head.

"You...you have the gift," she said as she now inched only a foot from him.

"The what?"

"I need to know the spell in order for this necklace to work. With your power, you can figure out the spell for me," Camille reasoned.

"And why would I do that?" Ethan asked while crossing his arms.

"Because if you don't, then all of your friends will perish," she warned him.

That was quite a conundrum. Ethan's friends were stuck far away, hidden from him. Right then, all he wanted to do was run away and check up on them, especially Benny.

"Ethan, you are on the right side here. I am not evil. I just want to right what has been wronged of me. And becoming ruler isn't so bad. I am a fair person. Think about it, you get to save your friends and have a lovely ruler, or you watch them burn and are left with nothing," Camille said. Every option sounded terrible.

But Ethan wasn't left with much of a choice. Gripping onto the stone, he was about to make his decision when the door bolted open.

Benny stormed in with the Plexonator in hand, about to chant his spell when Camille used her powers to slam him into the wall and knock the wind out of him.

"Silence!" she commanded.

"Has he agreed yet?" The white outline of Jasper appeared from behind her.

"He was about to before the rude interruptions," Camille hissed.

Right before Benny's intrusion, the four had been trapped in a room filled with spirits. Jasper had tried to take control as he hit the vampires around them. Benny proudly chanted his spell and was able to cast most of the angry souls away. Unfortunately, Rory, Sarah, and Erica had been affected by whatever spell was casted by Jasper and passed out onto the ground.

Ethan rubbed the stone comfortingly in his hand. There had to be something there to help Benny. Perhaps, it was a protection stone. Who knew?

"Right," Ethan said nervously, continuing to rub the stone.

Just as he approached them, he noticed Benny twitch from behind. Slowly, he rose from the floor and held the Plexonator up.

"Excellent. Touch the crystal now," Camille commanded.

Ethan stepped forward and pressed his hand to the crystal, a loud voice yelled from behind.

"Rhoi'r gorau iddi, ildio, ildio ysbrydion!" Benny perfectly chanted.

Jasper fell and struggled to get up. Benny grinned, knowing that the ghost was now under his full control.

"Destroy the crystal permanently!" he screamed. 

"No!" Camille cried out, knowing that Benny's command must happen due to the power of the Plexonator.

Without his will, Jasper stripped her necklace from her chest and smashed it into millions of pieces.

"NO!" Camille cried, falling to the floor in attempts to collect the remnants.

"Now, go back to wherever you came from, take Camille with you, and never return!" 

No warning whatsoever, Jasper grabbed hold of Camille and sucked her into the purple vortex that appeared ahead of them. They were vacuumed inside and soon disappeared.

Benny stopped the spell and watched the glowing Plexonator calm down.

Ethan looked at him in astonishment.

"Benny!"

He rushed across the room and clung to him for dear life. Benny hugged him back, surprised that he was able to pull it off as well as he did.

"I thought I lost you," Ethan muttered, burying his face in the crook of Benny's neck. Benny strongly strapped his arms around Ethan's waist, as Ethan's were around his neck.

"Never," he said gently.

They both pulled their heads apart and gazed into each other's eyes, captivating the moment. Thoughts didn't enter their minds as they leaned in to seal the gap between their lips, kissing desperately.

Ethan hummed a sigh of satisfaction and closed his eyes, moving his lips in synch with the kiss. Benny's hold tightened, the male gulping at the quickly heated kiss. Their lips parted, leaving room for their tongues to intertwine.

"Did I miss something?" Sarah asked from the doorframe.

Frantically, the culprits pulled apart and looked down with the biggest red faces.

Erica and Rory were standing there, jaws to the floor and frozen in shock.

"Maybe a bit," Ethan admitted.

Not saying another word, they left the mansion. 

The vampires walked ahead of them, giving the couple their private time. 

"So...what are we now?" Benny asked as they walked down the sidewalk of the neighborhood.

"Life's too short. I think...could we be boyfriends?" Ethan asked shyly while biting his lip.

Benny grinned and grabbed Ethan's hand. 

"I'd like that," he said happily.

"Hey, lovebirds! Valentine's day is next year!" Erica said from ahead.

They both rolled their eyes.

Ethan and Benny learned many valuable lessons from fighting their feelings for so long. Love isn't something to wait for, it's something to seek. If you love someone, let them know. Otherwise, you might have to fight your affections against a crazy vampire witch.

**Author's Note:**

> I'd love to personally thank every person that has kept up with my stories this long. Reading your comments really helps motivate me to write more things for you! Whether you just started reading my fiction, or have been reading since day one, I appreciate you.


End file.
